FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

ITS   CAUSES 
AND   CONSEQUENCES 


BY 


HENRY    HERBERT   GODDARD,   Ph.D. 

DIRECTOR   OF  THE   RESEARCH    LABORATORY   OF   THE   TRAINING   SCHOOL 
AT  VINELAND,   NEW   JpRSKY,'  i^OR  fE^EBLE-MINDED  |'*  " 


»  »J 

)     )   >  J  )        '  *  t   • 

•  •  •    J    •  •        » 
•     \*»\    *    *  %       » 

•  •  • 
•       »  • 

li^eto  gorfe 

THE 

MACMILLAN 
1914 

^11  rights  reserved 

COMPANY 

Copyright,  1914, 
By  the  M  ACM  ill  an  COMPANY. 


Set  'Ip  Jniiel«;trotypecC,  I'iSblished  July,  1914. 


• 


N-        \  }         i 


J.  8.  Gushing  Co.  —  Berwick  &  Smith  Co. 
Norwood,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


G51- 


EDWARD   R.  JOHNSTONE 

SUPERINTENDENT   OF    THE   TRAINING    SCHOOL 
AT    VINELAND 

FRIEND    AND    CO-WORKER,  WHOSE    DEVOTION    TO    THE    INTERESTS 
OF    THOSE    WHOSE    MINDS    HAVE    NOT    DEVELOPED 
NORMALLY    PROMPTED    THE    ESTABLISH- 
MENT  OF  THIS   DEPARTMENT 
OF    RESEARCH 


X 


PREFACE 

This  book  is  in  the  nature  of  a  report  on  work  done  at  the 
Vineland  Research  Laboratory  during  the  past  five  years  in  an 
attempt  to  discover  the  causes  of  the  feeble-mindedness  of  the 
children  in  the  Institution.  No  attempt  has  been  made  to  treat 
exhaustively  any  of  the  topics  that  have  come  up  for  con- 
sideration. 

The  report  is  far  from  complete.  Our  cases  are  still  being 
studied  and  the  data  are  so  incomplete  in  many  ways  that  one  is 
tempted  to  withhold  publication  until  the  results  of  other  studies 
now  in  progress  could  be  added.  Such  a  procedure  would  have 
given  a  more  satisfactory  product.  But  in  view  of  the  great 
popular  interest  in  these  topics  and  the  demand  for  informa- 
tion, we  have  put  aside  personal  preferences  and  prepared  what 
data  we  had  in  as  available  form  as  we  could. 

The  327  cases  here  presented  constitute  a  unitary  group. 
They  have  not  been  selected ;  they  are  of  all  ages  and  grades 
of  defect.  They  include  every  case  that  was  investigated,  and 
every  child  whose  home  was  in  New  Jersey  or  near  by  was  in- 
vestigated. Only  those  were  omitted  whose  homes  were  so  far 
away  that  the  cost  of  travel  for  our  field-workers  was  prohibitive. 

We  have  included  in  this  book  all  the  cases,  so  that  the 
reader  might  see  the  entire  group  on  which  our  statistics  are 
based.  Another  reason  for  including  them  is  because  it  is 
believed  that  other  students  with  other  interests  will  find  in 
this  material  much  that  we  have  made  no  attempt  to  use.  In 
this  way  the  data  may  have  a  value  beyond  anything  we  our- 
selves have  deduced  from  them. 

It  is  hoped  that  not  only  the  scientist  but  the  lay  read6r,  the 
parent  and  the  teacher  will  find  help  on  their  particular  prob- 


viii  PREFACE 

lems,  by  discovering  among  the  many  cases  some  that  are  like 
the  ones  in  whom  they  happen  to  be  interested.  Such  readers 
must  be  warned  that  no  two  cases  are  exactly  alike  and  it  would 
be  the  height  of  unwisdom  to  conclude  that  precisely  the  same 
causes  existed  or  results  were  obtainable  in  two  cases  whose 
descriptions  might  seem  to  tally.  Nevertheless  the  discovery 
of  apparently  similar  cases  would  be  of  value  and  would  have 
considerable  probability  of  agreement  in  other  particulars  than 
those  described  in  the  text. 

The  question  of  form  of  presentation  has  been  a  difficult  one 
to  settle.  The  material  is  largely  of  a  scientific  character  and 
will,  we  trust,  be  of  interest  to  the  scientific  man.  It  is  also  of 
profound  importance  to  the  layman.  We  have,  therefore,  at- 
tempted the  always  difficult  task  of  presenting  scientific  infor- 
mation in  a  popular  form.  The  difficulties  of  such  a  course  are 
so  great  that  we  cannot  hope  for  a  large  measure. of  success. 
If  we  have  been  able  to  spread  the  facts  before  the  reader  in 
such  a  way  that  they  are  intelligible  and  can  be  used,  we  shall 
be  satisfied. 

We  believe  that  the  material  has  been  so  treated  as  to  render 
it  entirely  impersonal.  All  names  have  been  changed,  dates 
and  localities  have  been  given  with  a  slight  variation,  so  that 
it  would  be  impossible  to  identify  any  of  the  cases  by  these 
means.  The  photographs  reproduced  are  those  of  children 
who  either  have  no  relatives  or  whose  relatives  have  no  pos- 
sible objection  to  such  publication. 

As  for  conclusions  from  the  facts  presented,  we  have 
attempted  to  adhere  closely  to  the  facts.  Any  theories  or 
hypotheses  that  have  been  presented  have  been  merely  those 
that  were  suggested  by  the  data  themselves,  and  have  been 
worked  out  in  an  effort  to  understand  what  the  data  seem  to 
comprise.  Some  of  the  conclusions  are  as  surprising  to  the 
writer  and  as  difficult  for  him  to  accept  as  they  are  likely 
to  be  to  many  readers.  The  relation  of  alcohol  to  feeble- 
mindedness, for  example,  is  to  the  writer  a  complete  surprise. 


PREFACE  ix 

That  normal  intelligence  seems  to  be  a  unit  character  and 
transmitted  in  true  Mendelian  fashion  is  a  conclusion  that  was 
forced  upon  us  by  the  figures,  and  one  that  is  difficult  to 
make  agree  with  previous  conceptions.  It  is  true  that  in  The 
Kallikak  Fainily  we  hinted  at  this,  but  the  preliminary  exam- 
ination of  the  larger  mass  of  material  had  thoroly  shaken  our 
confidence  and  had  left  us  with  the  feeling  that  it  would  not  be 
proved.  Even  now  we  are  far  from  believing  the  case  settled. 
The  problem  is  too  deep  to  be  thus  easily  disposed  of. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  we  admit  that  our  data  do  not  conclu- 
sively prove  to  the  satisfaction  of  everybody  that  the  Mendelian 
formula  applies  to  the  inheritance  of  intelligence,  we  are  equally 
in  doubt  in  regard  to  the  conclusions  of  those  who  believe  they 
have  demonstrated  the  opposite.  Statistical  theories  and  meth- 
ods have  a  great  value  in  modern  science,  but  their  application 
to  the  human  problem  is  fraught  with  many  and  serious  liabili- 
ties to  error.  In  inductive  science  one  must  always  make  some 
assumptions,  but  too  many  assumptions  spoil  the  inference. 
The  value  of  the  conclusion  may  be,  perhaps,  inversely  propor- 
tional to  the  square  of  the  number  of  assumptions. 

No  one  knows  all  about  feeble-mindedness  but  some  know 
less  than  others  and  current  literature  on  the  subject  is  largely 
based  on  assumptions,  some  of  which  are  known  to  be  false 
while  others  are  seriously  to  be  doubted. 

The  chapter  "  Is  Feeble-mindedness  a  Unit  Character } "  was 
written  under  the  rather  strong  impression  that  feeble-minded- 
ness is  not  a  unit  character.  After  the  data  were  counted  and 
seemed  to  show  so  conclusively  that  it  is  Mendelian  we  were 
inclined  to  omit  the  first  part  of  the  discussion  on  the  unit 
character,  but  decided  to  leave  it,  if  for  no  other  reason,  to 
show  the  stages  thru  which  our  thot  has  developed  in  the 
course  of  this  study.  The  former  view  may  yet  be  correct, 
but  here  are  facts  that  cannot  be  ignored.  It  may  be  that  we, 
^^*ke  Horace,  will  be  '*  compelled  to  go  over  again  the  road 
Iready  traveled."     It  i.j  quite  possible  that  there  are  laws  of 


X  PREFACE 

human  life  and  mind  that  cannot  be  proved  by  algebra  or  dis- 
proved by  calculus. 

In  the  attempt  to  discuss  such  a  mass  of  data  as  is  here 
presented,  the  writer  has  necessarily  dipped  into  many  fields 
where  he  is  not  thoroly  at  home.  Here  especially  it  is  probable 
that  he  has  fallen  into  errors.  He  will  always  welcome  cor- 
rections and  suggestions  from  those  readers  who  are  at  home  in 
these  various  fields. 

In  conclusion  the  writer  would  acknowledge  his  indebtedness 
to  the  many  persons  who  have  helped  him  in  this  work.  To 
do  so  by  name  would  be  to  add  pages  to  this  book.  It  is,  per- 
haps, not  necessary  to  refer  to  our  laboratory  staff,  for  this  book 
goes  forth  as  a  laboratory  product,  and  every  one  who  is,  or  has 
been  during  the  past  five  years,  associated  with  the  Research 
Department  has  helped,  directly  or  indirectly,  in  its  preparation. 
Likewise  the  members  of  the  Training  School  outside  of  the 
laboratory  have  thru  their  cooperation  with  the  Research 
Department  aided  in  the  production  of  this  study. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  there  would  have  been  no  such 
work  without  the  cooperation  of  the  Superintendent  and  the 
Trustees  of  the  Institution. 

It  must  not  be  left  unsaid  that  the  very  existence  of  the 
research  work  on  its  present  extended  plan  is  largely  depend- 
ent upon  one  man.  Many  men  have  means ;  some  men  appre- 
ciate the  value  of  scientific  research ;  a  few  men  have  faith 
enough  in  the  value  of  truth  to  take  steps  in  the  dark.  Such  a 
man  is  Mr.  Samuel  S.  Fels,  of  Philadelphia,  friend,  adviser, 
inspirer  and  promoter  of  this  work. 


CONTENTS 


THE    PROBLEM 

HAPTER  PAGES 

I.    Social  Problems 1-20 

Feeble-mindedness  Defined.  The  Part  it  Plays  in 
the  Problems  of  Crime,  Alcoholism,  Prostitution,  Pau- 
perism, Ne'er-do-wells,  and  Truants.  _Four  Lines  of 
Investigation. 

THE    DATA  ' 

II.    Reliability  of  the  Data       .        .        ;     _y. j        .        21-46 

Manner  of  obtaining  the  Data.  Qualifications  of 
Field  Workers;  their  Work  Tested;  Reinvestigated 
Cases  ;  a  Sample  Report. 

III.  The  Data 47-434 

Case  Histories  and  Pedigree  Charts  of  327  Families 
with  121  Portraits  of  Children.  Explanation  of  Sym-, 
bols.  Hereditary  Feeble-mindedness  —  Cases  1-164;, 
Probably  Hereditary  —  Cases  165-198.  Neuropathic 
Ancestry  —  Cases  199-235.  Accident  Group  —  Cases 
236-292.  No  Assignable  Cause  —  Cases  293-300.  Un- 
classified—  Cases  301-327. 

IV.  Causes 435-465  t. 

Discussion  of  Causes  of  Feeble-mindedness  as  they 
appear  from  our  Data.  Causes  Assigned  by  Parents  or 
Physicians.  Hereditary  Feeble-mindedness.  Probably 
Hereditary.  Ment;^!  Ao-p  in  Relation  to  Feeble-mind- 
edness. Neuropathic  Ancestry.  Accidents  (including 
disease).  Accidents  before  or  at  Birth,  the  Mongolian 
Group,  Accidents  after  Birth,  Meningitis.  No  Cause 
Discovered.     Unclassified  Cases. 


xn 


CONTENTS 


V.    Discussion  of  the  Data 466-532 

Summaries  of  the  Charts.  Conditions  or  Diseases 
found  accompanying  Feeble-mindedness  (with  Tables), 
Alcoholism ;  Paralytic,  Epileptic,  Insane  or  Syphilitic 
Parents ;  Tuberculosis ;  Sexual  Immorality ;  Illegiti- 
mate Children  ;  Paralysis.  Insanity  and  Feeble-mind- 
edness. Genius  and  Feeble-mindedness.  Epilepsy  and 
Feeble-mindedness.  Criminality  and  Feeble-minded- 
ness. Syphilis  ;  Blindness  and  Deafness  ;  Consanguin- 
ity ;  Twins  ;  Neuroses^  Migraine,  etc. ;  Persons  in  Other 
Institutions.     Tables.     Summaries. 

VI.     Mendel's  Law  of  Inheritance       .....     533-538 
Mendel's  Experiments.    The  Law.    The  Explanation. 

Vll.     Is  Feeble-mindedness  a  Unit  Character?  .         .        .     539-547 
The  Negative  Side  Considered.     The  Other  Side. 

VIII.     Is  the  Inheritance  of  Feeble-mindedness  in  Accord- 
ance with  the  Mendelian  Law?  .        .        .     548-557 
The  Types  of  Matings  Considered.     Our  Results. 
The  General  Intelligence  Theory. 


CONCLUSIONS 

IX.     Eugenics 558-5671 

The  Eugenic  Program.     Colonization  and  Steriliza- 
tion. 

X.    Practical  Applications 568-590 

Must  first  Recognize  and  Treat  the  Feeble-minded 
that  are  in  the  Hands  of  the  Law;    the  Pauper,  the  ' 

Criminal,   the   Drunkard,   the   Prostitute,   etc.     Three 

. Principles- -thatr-Hetermine   Treatment   and-^Training : 

Levels  of  Intelligence.  Levels  Inherited,  Relation  of 
Levels  of  Intelligence  to  Trainability.  Care  of  Mental 
Defectives.  Industrial  Classification.  Necessity  of  Rec- 
ognition of  the  Moron.  What  is  to  be  done  with  People 
of  Low  Intelligence?     Resume. 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS: 

ITS  CAUSES  AND  CONSEQUENCES 


CHAPTER   I 
SOCIAL   PROBLEMS 

In  our  attempt  to  solve  the  problems  resulting  from  congre- 
gate life,  that  of  crime,  of  pauperism,  of  intemperance  and  of  the 
social  evil,  we  have  heretofore  assumed  without  question,  that 
all  of  the  people  who  constitute  "the  problem"  a're  at  least  re- 
sponsible, and  that  what  they  do  is  done  in  spite  of  knowledge 
and  ability  to  do  better.  Altho  any  thotful  person  might  divide 
humanity  into  the  responsible  and  the  irresponsible,  the  sane 
and  the  insane,  or  the  normal  and  the  mentally  defective,  he 
would  define  the  irresponsible  as  meaning  the  insane  and  the 
mentally  defective  and  by  these  terms  designate  that  group  of 
persons  who  are  incapable  of  taking  care  of  themselves  and  are 
such  people  as  we  shut  up  in  insane  hospitals  or  idiot  asylums. 
The  inmates  of  these  Institutions  do  not  constitute  a  serious 
social  problem.  They  are  easily  recognized  and  because  all 
appreciate  the  necessity  they  are  easily  placed  in  Institutions 
where  they  are  cared  for  with  more  or  less  success.  To  be  sure 
this  has  been  no  inconsiderable  task.  Institutions  for  the  insane 
and  feeble-minded  are  continually  increasing  in  size  and  number. 

But  great  as  is  the  task  that  we  have  performed  in  caring  for 
the  insane  and  the  feeble-minded,  we  have  a  far  greater  task  in 
connection  with  the  criminal,  the  pauper  and  the  intemperate. 


2  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

With  these  classes  it  is  more  than  a  problem  of  building  institu- 
tions. It  is  the  question  of  recognizing  the  true  nature  of  these 
people.  This  is  not  easy  if  we  look  only  at  the  end  product. 
The  criminal  in  prison,  the  pauper  in  the  almshouse,  the  intem- 
perate man  in  the  gutter  presents  a  spectacle  which  may  arouse 
our  pity  or  our  disgust,  but  it  tells  us  nothing  of  the  original 
nature  of  the  man  or  how  he  came  to  be  in  his  present  condition. 
Without  knowing  the  answers  to  these  questions  it  is  impossible 
for  our  care  of  these  persons  to  be  satisfactory.  Every  social 
worker  knows  that  it  is  not  satisfactory. 

It  is  proposed  in  this  book  to  consider  these  problems  from  a 
new  standpoint.  We  start  out  with  an  hypothesis  somewhat 
new  altho  it  is  recognized  by  those  who  have  studied  this 
special  group.  The  novelty  is  its  application  to  the  larger 
problems  of  social  life. 

This  hypothesis  may  be  stated  as  follows  /  there  are  all  grades 
of  responsibility,  from  zero  to  the  highest ;  or,  there  are  all  grades 
of  intelhgence  from  practically  none  up  to  that  of  the  genius  or 
the  most  gifted.  Responsibility  varies  according  to  the  intelh- 
gence. Even  among  those  people  whom  we  have  usually  consid- 
ered tV^oroly  normal  and  responsible,  there  are  environments  in 
which  they  are  responsible  and  others  in  which  they  cannot  be 
so  considered.  They  have  intelligence  enough  to  Uve  in  certain 
environments  and  care  for  themselves  but  in  a  more  complex 
social  group  it  is  impossible  for  them  to  function  properl^  As 
Binet  points  out,  normal  intelligence  is  a  relative  matter  and 
that  which  is  sufficient  for  a  French  peasant  out  in  the  country 
is  not  sufficient  for  a  Frenchman  in  Paris.  That  intelligence 
which  carries  a  person  thru  life  under  a  simpler  form  of  society 
is  insufficient  in  many  of  the  complex  situations  of  the  present 
day.  It  is  probable  that  it  is  this  relativity  that  has  disturbed 
us  and  led  us  to  go  so  far  without  seeing  the  real  issue.  In  other 
words  the  persons  who  constitute  our  social  problems  are  of  a 
type  that  in  the  past  and  under  simpler  environments  have 


SOCIAL   PROBLEMS  3 

seemed  responsible  and  able  to  function  normally,  but  for  whom 
the  present  environment  has  become  too  complex  so  that  they 
are  no  longer  responsible  for  their  actions.  We  have  not  real- 
ized this,  so  gradual  have  been  the  changes  that  have  come  over 
our  civilization. 

On  this  view  the  problem  is  to  be  solved  partly  by  adaptation 
and  partly  by  elimination.  An  ideal  procedure  would  be  to  draw 
the  line  between  responsibility  and  irresponsibility.  Draw  one 
line  at  that  point  below  which  a  person  of  that  intelligence  is 
not  desirable  or  useful  in  any  environment.  Those  above  that 
line  must  again  be  di\dded  into  persons  of  sufficient  intelligence 
to  function  in  the  simplest  environment,  those  of  higher  intelli- 
gence who  can  function  in  a  more  complex  environment  and  so 
on  to  the  most  complex.  Such  a  scheme  is  of  course  too  mechan- 
ical and  is  impossible,  nevertheless  it  may  be  held  in  view  as 
something  toward  which  we  may  work  altho  without  any  desire 
to  attain  to  that  extreme  position. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  this  is  what  we  attempt  to  do  now  but  we 
go  about  it  in  a  crude  bungling  way.  (.The  problem  for  society 
to  solve  is  to  ^^ivpytmp  i|^tp]]ip;pnt  Hirprtinn   tn  thic   frndinp;  of 

responsibility  so  that  it  may  be  less  bungling  and  more  practical. 
We  must  measure  the  intelligence.  Knowing  the  grade  of  intel- 
ligence we  may  know  the  degree  of  responsibility.  Knowing 
the  degree  of  responsibility  we  know  how  to  treat.' 

Persons  who  are  recognized  as  being  below  the  line  of  normal 
intelligence  have  been  at  different  periods  called  by  different 
names.  Originally  called  idiots  they  were  later  designated  as 
imbeciles  and  still  later  as  feeble-minded.  Since  more  study 
has  been  put  upon  the  problem  it  has  become  necessary  to  desig- 
nate different  degrees  of  defect  and  by  common  consent  the  cus- 
tom has  grown  up  of  applying  the  term  idiot  to  the  lowest  grade, 
imbecile  to  the  middle  grade,  and  feeble-minded  to  the  highest. 

In  England  this  is  the  common  classification.  As  a  general 
term  for  all,  the  expression  "  aments  "  is  sometimes  used.     In 


4  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

America  we  have  used  the  expression  feeble-minded  both  in  a 
specific  and  in  a  generic  sense,  specifically  to  designate  the  highest 
division,  and  generically  the  whole  group.  Our  Institutions  for 
these  defectives  are  generally  known  as  Institutions  for  the 
Feeble-minded. 

Since  the  introduction  of  the  Binet  Measuring  Scale  of  Intel- 
ligence and  the  grading  of  children  by  their  mental  age,  a  closer 
classification  has  been  followed.  The  American  Association 
for  the  study  of  the  feeble-minded  has  adopted  the  following 
scheme :  The  term  idiot  is  used  to  designate  those  of  mental 
age  up  to  and  including  two  years ;  imbecile,  those  of  from 
three  to  seven  years,  inclusive.  For  those  from  seven  to  twelve 
a  new  term  has  been  invented;  they  are  now  called  morons. 
The  term  moron,  therefore,  in  America  designates  almost  exactly 
what  is  meant  by  "feeble-minded"  in  England^^ 
/  Feeble-mindedness  has  been  defined  as  a  ''state  of  mental 
defect  existing  from  birth  or  from  an  early  age  and  due  to  incom- 
plete or  abnormal  development  in  consequence  of  which,  the 
person  affected  is  incapable  of  performing  his  duties  as  a  member 
of  society  in  the  position  of  life  to  which  he  is  born.f  If  we  leave 
out  those  whom  society  has  already  recognized  as  idiots  or  imbe- 
ciles, we  have  the  higher  group,  the  specifically  feeble-minded 
or  moron,  which  has  be^njlefined  by  the  Royal  College  of  Physi- 
cians in  the  following  terms  :  ''One  who  is  capable  of  earning  his 
living  under  favorable  circumstances,  but  is  incapable  from 
mental  defect  existing  from  birth  or  from  an  early  age  (a)  of 
competing  on  equal  terms  with  his  normal  fellows  or  {b)  of  manag- 
ing himself  and  his  affairs  with  ordinary  prudence."  This  defi- 
nition, it  is  seen,  would  include  a  great  many  whom  we  have  not 
thot  of  as  feeble-minded ;  this  is  because  the  characteristics  of 
the  moron  are  not  those  which  are  usually  associated  in  the  popu- 
lar mind  with  persons  of  sub-normal  intelligence.  Morons  are 
often  normal  looking  with  few  or  no  obvious  stigmata  of  degen- 
eration frequently  able  to  talk  fluently  ;  their  conversation  while 


INCAPABLE   OF   SOCIAL   ADJUSTMENT  5 

marked  by  poverty  of  thought  or  even  siUiness  nevertheless 
commonly  passes  as  the  result  of  ignorance. 

If  it  is  discovered  that  they  cannot  learn  they  are  thot  of  as   ^ 
dull  or  slow   but   not  as  actually  defective  and  incapable  of 
learning.     So  strong  is  their  resemblance  to  the  normal  person 
that  altho  they  are  well  understood  by  those  who  have  studied 
them  and  have  dealt  with  them  in  Institutions,  yet  there  are 
many  people  even  to-day  who  refuse  to  admit  that  they  cannot 
be  trained  to  function  like  normal  people.     Yet  they  are  the 
persons  who  make  for  us  our  social  problems.     The  emphasis 
here  is  on  the  word  ''incapahUr     This  is  the  thing  that  we  have 
heretofore  ignored.     We  have  known  that  these  people  did  not  v^ 
compete  successfully  and  that  they  did  not  manage  their  affairs 
with  ordinary  prudence,  but  we  have  not  recognized  that  they 
were  fundamentally  incapable  of  so  doing.     We  have  assumed 
rather  that  they  could  do  it  if  they  would.     All  of  our  efforts 
have  been  toward  making  them  do  that  which  we  beUeved  they 
were  capable  of  doing.     This  incapacity  once  recognized,  our 
problem  takes  on  an  entirely  different  aspect. 

But  what  right  have  we  to  consider  that  this  is  mcapacity? 
\^at  evidences  are  there  that  this  is  a  truer  view  than  the  older 
one  of  unwilhngness  to  do  the  right?  The  answer  to  this  must 
come  from  experience  -  no  theory  will  apply  here.  If  we  could 
test  all  these  people  then  we  would  reahze  their  mcapacity. 
But  some  one  says  this  is  impossible  -  there  are  too  many 
factors  involved.  There  are  so  many  excuses  for  a  criminal  or 
a  pauper  or  an  intemperate  person ;  he  may  have  been  badly 
trained,  his  school  education  nil,  his  home  environment  bad,  and 
so  on  thru  a  long  Hst,  each  in  itself  enough  to  account  for  his 
condition.  Consequently  there  is  no  way  of  demonstratmg 
that  there  was  no  will  nor  materials  for  developing  a  will. 

The  fact  is,  altho  it  is  not  generally  reaHzed,  that  we  have 
such  experiments  and  many  of  them.  The  answer  is  not  as 
doubtful  as  it  seems.     Our  Institutions  for  the  Feeble-mmded 


6  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

have  in  the  later  years  received  many  children  who  belong  to 
this  higher  grade  group.  In  these  Institutions  children  have 
been  held  and  trained  under  ideal  conditions  and  in  many  cases 
at  least  by  the  most  approved  methods.  The  result  is  always 
the  same.  The  children  proved  to  be  incapable.  There  is  no 
/  doubt.  It  is  not  a  question  of  wilful  wrongdoing ;  it  is  inca- 
pacity to  do  differently.  As  a  result  we  have  a  line  drawn  mark- 
ing a  degree  of  intelhgence  to  which  these  people  do  not  reach  ; 
consequently  they  are  incapable  of  functioning  properly  in  our 
highly  organized  society. 

The  percentage  of  the  population  that  belongs  to  the  moron 
group  is  undetermined.  Those  who  have  studied  the  problem 
most  deeply  and  who  are  best  able  to  recognize  the  moron, 
usually  consider  that  about  2  %  of  the  school  population 
V  is  feeble-minded,  and  the  larger  part  of  these  are  morons.  Those 
of  less  experience,  who  still  regard  many  of  these  people  as  merely 
backward  or  dull,  insist  that  this  percentage  is  far  too  large. 
On  the  other  hand,  some  investigators  in  certain  locaHties  have 
made  it  as  high  as  3  %.  The  determination  of  the  actual 
number  can  only  come  from  a  careful  study  of  all  dull,  backward 
children  and  a  careful  record  of  how  many  of  them  actually  make 
good  later  in  hfe  and  how  many  prove  incapable  of  taking  their 
place  in  society.  At  present  it  is  not  very  important  to  know 
the  actual  number.  It  is  sufficient  to  know  that  there  are  many 
more  of  them  than  we  have  recognized  in  the  past  and  that  they 
must  be  cared  for. 

Let  us  now  consider  some  of  the  specific  social  problems  and 
the  part  that  feeble-mindedness  plays  in  them. 

THE   PROBLEM   OF   CRIME 

Society's  attitude  toward  the  criminal  has  gone  thru  a  decided 
evolution,  but  that  evolution  has  been  in  the  fine  of  its  treatment 
rather  than  of  its  understanding  of  him  and  of  liis  responsibility. 
Almost  up  to  the  present  time  there  has  been  a  practically  uni- 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  THE  CRIMINAL  7 

versal  assumption  of  the  responsibility  of  all  except  the  very 
youngest  children  and  those  recognized  as  idiots,  imbeciles  or 
insane.  The  oldest  method  of  treatment  was  in  accordance 
with  the  idea  of  vengeance,  an  eye  for  an  eye.  The  god  Justice 
was  satisfied  if  the  offender  suffered  an  equal  amount  with  those 
whom  he  had  made  suffer.  Later  came  the  idea  of  punishing 
an  offender  for  the  sake  of  deterring  others  from  similar 
crimes.  This  is  the  basis  of  much  of  our  present  penal  legis- 
lation. But  students  of  humanity  have  gone  farther  and  now 
reaUze  that  the  great  function  of  punishment  is  to  reform  the 
offender. 

We  have  had  careful  studies  of  the  offender  from  this  stand- 
point. Studies  have  been  made  of  his  environment  and  of  those 
things  which  have  led  him  into  crime.  Attempts  have  been 
made  to  remove  these  conditions,  so  that  criminals  shall  not  be 
made,  or  having  reformed,  they  shall  not  again  be  led  into  a 
criminal  life.  A  great  deal  has  been  accompHshed  along  these 
Hnes.  But  we  shall  soon  realize,  if  we  have  not  already,  that  on 
this  track  there  is  a  barrier  which  we  cannot  cross /^Environ- 
ment will  not,  of  itself,  enable  all  people  to  escape  criminality. 
The  problem  goes  much  deeper  than  environment.  It  is  the 
question  of  responsibility.  Those  who  are  bom  without  suffi- 
cient intelligence  either  to  know  right  from  wrong,  or  those,  who 
if  they  know  it,  have  not  sufficient  will-power  and  judgment  to 
make  themselves  do  the  right  and  flee  the  wrong,  will  ever  be  a 
fertile  source  of  criminality.  This  is  being  recognized  more  and 
more  by  those  who  have  to  do  with  criminals.  We  have  no  thot 
of  maintaining  that  all  criminals  are  irresponsible.  Altho  we 
cannot  determine  at  present  just  what  the  proportion  is,  probably 
from  25  %  to  50  %  of  the  people  in  our  prisons  are  mentally 
defective  and  incapable  of  managing  their  affairs  with  ordinary 
prudence.  A  great  deal  has  been  written  about  the  criminal 
type  and  its  various  characteristics.  It  is  interesting  to  see 
in  the  light  of  modem  knowledge  of  the  defective   that  these 


8  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

descriptions  are  almost  without  exception  accurate  descriptions 
of  the  feeble-niinde4,./' 
(The  hereditary  criminal  passes  out  with  the  advent  of  feeble- 
mindedness into  the  problem.  The  criminal  is  not  bom ;  he  is 
made.  The  so-called  criminal  type  is  merely  a  type  of  feeble- 
mindedness, a  type  misunderstood  and  mistreated,  driven  into 
"criminality  for  which  he  is  well  fitted  by  nature^  It  is  hereditary 
)feeble-mindedn£ss  not  hereditary  criminality  that  accounts  for 
the  conditions.  We  have  seen  only  the  end  product  and  failed 
jto  recognize  the  character  of  the  raw  material. 

Perhaps  the  best  data  on  this  problem  come  from  the  prisons 
and  the  reformatories.  It  is  quite  surprising  to  see  how  many 
persons  who  have  to  do  with  criminals  are  coming  fqrward  with 
the  statement  that  a  greater  or  less  percentage  of  the  persons 
under  their  care  are  feeble-minded.  They  had  always  known 
that  a  certain  proportion  were  thus  affected,  but  since  the  recog- 
nition of  the  moron  and  of  his  characteristics,  the  percentage  is 
found  ever  higher  and  higher.  The  highest  of  all  come  from 
the  Institutions  for  Juveniles,  partly  because  it  is  difficult  to 
believe  that  an  adult  man  or  woman  who  makes  a  fair  appearance 
but  who  lacks  in  certain  lines,  is  not  simply  ignorant.  We  are 
more  willing  to  admit  the  defect  of  children.  The  discrepancy 
is  also  due  to  the  fact  that  the  mental  defectives  are  more  apt  to 
die  young  leaving  among  the  older  prisoners  those  who  are  really 
intelligent. 

The  following  Hst  of  reformatories  and  institutions  for  delin- 
quents with  the  estimated  number  of  defectives  undoubtedly 
gives  a  fair  idea  of  the  amount  of  feeble-mindedness.  The 
differences  in  the  percentages  are  probably  due  more  to  the 
standards  used  in  estimating  the  defective  than  to  actual  differ- 
ences in  numbers.  It  is  the  most  discouraging  to  discover  that 
the  more  expert  is  the  examiner  of  these  groups,  the  higher  is  the 
percentage  of  feeble-minded  found.  For  example.  Dr.  Olga 
Bridgman,  who  has  made  one  of  the  most  careful  studies  on 


JUVENILE   DELINQUENTS 


record,  finds  that  89  %  of  the  girls  at  Geneva,  Illinois,  are  defec- 
tive. 

Institution  Per  Cent  Defective 


St.  Cloud  Minnesota  Reformatory    . 

Rahway  Reformatory,  New  Jersey  (Binet)  *     . 

Bedford  Reformatory,  New  York  —  under  11  years 

Lancaster,  Massachusetts  (girl's  reformatory)  . 

Lancaster,  Massachusetts,  50  paroled  girls 

Lyman  School  for  Boys,  Westboro,  Massachusetts 

Pentonville,  IlKnois,  Juveniles  . 

Massachusetts  Reformatory,  Concord 

Newark,  New  Jersey,  Juvenile  Court 

Elmira  Reformatory 

Geneva,  Illinois  (Binet)     . 

Ohio  Boys  School  (Binet) 

Ohio  Girls  School  (Binet)      ^    . 

Virginia,  3  Reformatories  (Binet) 

New  Jersey  State  Home  for  Girls 

Glen  Mills  Schools,  Pennsylvania,  Girl's  Department 


about 


54 
46 
80 
60 
82 
28 
40 

52 
66 
70 
89 

70 
70 
79 

75 

72 


The  percentages  above  given  are  not  in  all  cases  the  official 
figures  given  out  by  the  examiners,  but  are  the  author's  inter- 
pretation based  on  the  facts  given  in  the  reports. 

Unfortunately  we  cannot  average  the  percentages  because  the 
reports  from  which  these  figures  were  taken  do  not  always  state 
the  number  of  persons  upon  whom  the  estimate  is  made. 

A  glance  will  show  that  an  estimate  of  50  %  is  well  within  \ 
the  limit.  From  these  studies  we  might  conclude  that  at  least 
50  %  of  all  criminals  are  mentally  defective.  Even  if  a 
much  smaller  percentage  is  defective  it  is  sufficient  for  our  argu- 
ment that  without  question  one  point  of  attack  for  the  solution 
of  the  problem  of  crime  is  the  problem  of  feeble-mindedness. 

It  is  easier  for  us  to  reaHze  this  if  we  remember  how  many  of 
the  crimes  that  are  committed  seem  foohsh  and  silly.  One 
steals    something    that    he    cannot    use    and    cannot    dispose 


♦Tested  by  the  Binet  scale. 


10  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

of  without  getting  caught.  A  boy  is  offended  because  the 
teacher  will  not  let  him  choose  what  he  will  study,  and  therefore 
he  sets  fire  to  the  school  building.  Another  kills  a  man  in  cold 
blood  in  order  to  get  two  dollars.  Somebody  else  allows  himself 
to  be  persuaded  to  enter  a  house  and  pass  out  stolen  goods  under 
circumstances  where  even  sKght  intelligence  would  have  told 
him  he  was  sure  to  be  caught.  Sometimes  the  crime  itself  is 
not  so  stupid  but  the  perpetrator  acts  stupidly  afterwards  and 
is  caught,  where  an  intelligent  person  would  have  escaped. 
Many  of  the  "unaccountable"  crimes,  both  large  and  small, 
are  accounted  for  once  it  is  recognized  that  the  criminal  may 
be  mentally  defective.  Judge  and  jury  are  frequently  amazed 
at  the  Jolly  of  the  defendant  —  the  lack  of  common  sense  that 
he  displayed  in  his  act.  It  has  not  occurred  to  us  that  the 
folly,  the  crudity,  the  dullness,  was  an  indication  of  an  intellec- 
tual trait  that  rendered  the  victim  to  a  large  extent  irresponsible. 

ALCOHOLISM 
Intemperance  —  Drunkenness 

For  more  than  a  generation  the  civiHzed  world  has  been  more 
or  less  vigorously  fighting  intemperance  and  drunkenness.  With 
what  result  ?  The  answer  depends  largely  upon  the  temperament 
of  the  questioner.  If  he  is  optimistic  he  may  claim  that  much 
has  been  accompHshed.  If  he  is  of  the  pessimistic  nature  he 
will  declare  that  there  has  been  no  result.  At  least  we  can  all 
agree  that  the  result  is  far  from  satisfactory.  The  drink-bill 
of  the  nation  increases  every  year,  and  faster  than  the  popula- 
tion. Why  has  so  Httle  been  accomplished?  Largely  because 
the  nature  of  the  problem  has  been  imperfectly  understood. 

There  have  been  enough  people  who  believed  that  it  was  a 
matter  of  education  and  will-power  to  defeat  all  efforts  at  any 
more  drastic  method  of  dealing  with  it.  We  have  lectured  to 
the  people,  we  have  preached  to  them,  we  have  fined  them,  we 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  ALCOHOLISM  ii 

have  punished  them,  we  have  devoted  a  disproportionate  time 
in  pubHc  schools  to  educating  them  on  the  effects  of  alcohol.  A 
good  proportion  of  our  efforts  have  been  wasted.  We  have  not 
discovered  until  recently  that  a  comparatively  large  percentage 
of  people  cannot  learn ;  that  they  have  no  will-power,  they  are 
the  simple  victims  of  suggestion  ;  a  Gough  can  induce  them  to 
sign  the  pledge  by  scores,  and  to-morrow  or  next  week  they  are 
drunk  again.  They  can  be  preached  to  and  profess  conversion, 
only  to  be  found  in  the  gutter  to-morrow.  The  children  can 
learn  to  recite  the  things  that  they  are  told  about  the  effects  of 
alcohol,  and  then  go  out  on  the  street  and  into  the  saloon. 

Many  of  them  being  feeble-minded  have  no  control  over  their 
appetites  or  over  the  situation  in  which  they  are  placed,  and 
given  an  environment  with  temptation  and  suggestion  to  drink 
intoxicants,  they  easily  yield. 

We  have  committed  the  same  error  here  as  in  many  of  our 
other  social  problems,  that  of  looking  only  at  the  end  product 
and  reasoning  from  what  we  know  of  ourselves  to  what  has  been 
the  probable  cause  of  this  condition  and  consequently  how  it 
would  best  be  prevented.  We  have  failed  to  go  deep  into  the 
question  and  investigate  what  we  may  call  the  raw  material. 

Looking  at  the  problem  from  the  standpoint  of  mental  defec^^ 
tiveness  we  are  confronted  at  once  by  the  fact  that  the  same  lack 
of  intelHgence,  the  same  inability  to  control  one's  actions  must 
necessarily  lead  these  defectives  into  alcohoUsm  whenever  the 
environment  is  suitable.  We  may  say  that  ever^^  feeble-minded^^^^ 
person  is  a  potential  drunkard.  This  is  only  another  specialized 
form  of  what  might  be  put  in  a  general  statement  that  every 
feeble-minded  person  is  bound  to  be  the  victim  of  his  environment 
because  he  has  not  intelHgence  and  judgment  and  will-power 
enough  to  control  that  environment. 

We  have  therefore  every  reason  to  expect  that  a  goodly  per- 
centage of  the  feeble-minded  people  will  become  alcoholic. 
So  much  for  the  a  priori  argument.     What  are  the  facts? 


1 2  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

As  in  the  case  of  criminals  we  are  still  lacking  figures  that 
will  give  us  any  accurate  idea  of  the  percentage  of  alcoholics 
that  are  feeble-minded.  It  has  long  been  claimed  that  alcohoHcs 
were  mentally  weak  but  it  was  supposed  that  this  was  produced 
by  the  alcohol  itself ;  that  in  the  beginning  they  were  all  strong 
minded  ;  that  the  alcohol  has  taken  away  that  strength.  There 
are  few  or  no  data  to  prove  the  truth  or  falsity  of  this  statement. 
There  are  many  considerations  however  that  will  lead  the  un- 
prejudiced person  to  the  conviction  that  the  number  of  persons 
in  whom  alcohol  has  produced  a  weakness  of  the  will  is  compara- 
tively small.  There  are  too  many  people  who  have  gone  to  the 
farthest  extreme  in  the  abuse  of  alcohol  who  nevertheless  main- 
tain all  their  mental  vigor  when  they  abstain  from  the  cup. 
There  are  no  excesses  of  alcohol  to  which  man  has  gone,  from 
which  some  men  have  not  recovered  and  become  thoroly  vigor- 
ous mentally,  even  v/hen  it  has  practically  destroyed  their  phys- 
ical constitution. 

The  chief  source  of  weakness  of  the  intemperate  is  in  the  line 
of  habit.  A  habit  of  drinking  enslaves  a  man  as  much  as  any 
other  habit  but  it  does  not  have  any  effect  upon  his  mental 
processes  that  are  not  involved  in  the  particular  habit.  Let 
anything  occur  to  break  this  habit  and  he  is  practically  restored 
to  his  full  strength  of  mentaHty.  Wherever  there  is  a  perma- 
nent and  incurable  weakness  of  will  and  lack  of  intelligence  it  is 
highly  probable  that  there  never  has  been  a  strong  will  or  high 
intelligence. 

This  statement  may  be  challenged  by  some  readers  but  it  is 
borne  out  not  only  by  the  psychology  of  the  case  but  by  obser- 
vation. One  has  only  to  consider  the  large  number  of  cases  where 
persons  who  are  strongly  addicted  to  alcohol  have  suddenly 
reformed  and  maintained  a  high  degree  of  integrity  and  mental 
strength.  Many  a  man  has  been  so  strongly  affected  by  a  death 
in  his  family  that  he  has  suddenly  and  absolutely  changed  his 
habits  and  become  a  temperate  man.     Some  have  reformed  thru 


THE    PROBLEM   OF    PROSTITUTION  13 

a  change  of  environment ;  some  thru  the  stimulus  given  by  reli- 
gious conversion ;    some  because  their  pride  has  been  aroused. 

The  following  case  known  to  the  writer  is  typical :  a  man  who 
had  reached  the  lowest  level,  had  become  a  perfect  sot,  after  an 
all  night's  debauch  appHed  to  a  barkeeper  in  the  morning  for 
another  drink ;  the  barkeeper,  altho  he  knew  him  well,  refused 
him,  because  he  could  not  pay  for  it.  This  so  angered  the  man 
that  he  said  to  himself  —  ''If  that  is  what  they  think  of  me,  I 
will  never  drink  another  drop."     He  kept  his  resolution. 

In  these  cases  there  is  never  any  history  of  a  weakened  mind 
except  along  the  one  line  of  the  habit ;  these  people  have  their 
normal  intelHgence  and  the  effects  of  their  intemperance  how- 
ever much  they  may  appear  in  their  physical  condition  do  not 
show  in  the  mental.  The  numerous  cases  of  men  who  are  gener- 
ally temperate  and  good  business  men  but  occasionally  have  to 
go  on  a  spree  are  examples  of  the  same  principle.  As  soon  as 
they  have  recovered  from  their  debauch  they  have  their  normal 
intelligence. 

The  question  of  whether  alcohol  causes  feeble-mindedness  will 
be  discussed  at  length  later  on.  The  present  discussion  is  only 
intended  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  feeble-mindedness 
must  in  the  very  nature  of  the  case  He  at  the  root  of  much  intem- 
perance, and  that  to  successfully  attack  this  problem  we  must 
begin  at  the  beginning  and  discover  what  is  the  abihty  of  each 
individual,  by  his  natural  mental  inheritance,  to  control  his 
own  actions. 

PROSTITUTION   AND   THE  WHITE   SLAVE  TRAFFIC 
Perhaps  there  is  no  problem  looming  larger  at  the  present  time 
than  prostitution  with  its  attendant  horror  the  so-called  white 
slave  traffic. 

Much  has  been  made  of  the  condition  of  the  under-paid  shop- 
girl who  is  compelled  to  supplement  her  earnings  by  immoral 
acts.     Vice  commissions  have  investigated  the  subject  and  vari- 


14  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

ous  reports  have  appeared.  There  is  practically  no  consensus 
of  opinion  as  to  the  cause  of  this  vice,  and  the  emphasis  is  laid 
now  here,  now  there.  Among  the  different  causes  feeble-minded- 
ness  has  been  suggested,  but  nowhere  has  it  been  given  the  promi- 
nence that  is  due  it.  No  one  who  understands  feeble-minded- 
ness,  especially  the  moron,  can  expect  anything  else  than  that 
great  numbers  of  these  girls  will  fall  into  a  hfe  of  prostitution. 
The  simple  fact  that  they  have  normal  or  nearly  normal  instincts, 
with  no  power  of  control,  gives  the  condition  for  the  result.  Some 
of  them  seek  out  that  kind  of  Hfe,  others  become  the  easy  victims 
of  the  cadet,  the  white  slaver  or  the  madame.  Even  the  under- 
paid shop-girl  is  in  many  cases  a  girl  of  low  intelligence,  while 
not  perhaps  a  moron,  yet  not  very  many  degrees  from  it,  —  a 
girl  who  has  not  been  able  to  learn  enough  to  enable  her  to  earn 
a  larger  wage.  Many  of  these  under-paid  girls  seem  to  be  merely 
ignorant,  not  mentally  defective.  On  the  other  hand,  where  a 
fair  degree  of  intelligence  is  present,  the  girl  does  not  remain 
ignorant.  The  world  is  full  of  people  who  have  started  out  with 
as  little  capital  in  the  way  of  education  as  can  be  imagined,  and 
yet  the  something  within  them  has  pushed  them  forward.  Their 
inborn  intelligence  has  enabled  them  to  master  the  work  of  a 
trade  and  they  have  steadily  forged  to  the  front.  So  that  it 
may  well  be  contended  that  feeble-mindedness  is  indirectly  as 
well  as  directly  the  cause  of  much  of  the  prostitution.  And  it  is 
these  weak-minded,  unintelligent  girls  who  make  the  white  slave 
traffic  possible.  While  it  is  true  that  now  and  then  one  is  forcibly 
kidnapped  and  forced  into  this  life  under  circumstances  which 
no  amount  of  intelligence  could  have  controlled,  yet  a  mere  read- 
ing of  an  account  often  shows  that  the  girl  was  lacking  in  intelli- 
gence or  she  could  not  have  been  entrapped  in  the  way  she  was. 
As  to  actual  statistics  on  this  subject  we  have  almost  none. 
One  very  significant  record  comes  from  Geneva,  Illinois,  made 
by  the  same  Dr.  Bridgman  whom  we  have  already  quoted. 
She  found  that  of  104  girls  in  that  reformatory,  who  were  com- 


_    OF    PROSTITUTES   FEEBLE-MINDED  15 

mitted  for  immoral  life,  97  %  were  feeble-minded.  This  does 
not  by  any  means  indicate  that  97  %  of  prostitutes  are  feeble- 
minded, because  it  is  only  natural  to  expect  that  the  feeble- 
minded ones  would  be  the  ones  to  be  caught  and  sent  to  an  In- 
stitution. This  figure,  nevertheless,  gives  some  idea  of  the 
prevalence  of  feeble-mindedness  in  this  traffic.  Many  compe- 
tent judges  estimate  that  50  %  of  prostitutes  are  feeble-  \ 
minded. 

Some  day  a  vice  commission  or  a  progressive  court  will  arrest 
a  typical  group  of  prostitutes  and  test  their  mentaHty  by  ap- 
proved methods.  Then  the  problem  will  begin  to  approach  solu- 
tion. A  large  majority  will  be  found  feeble-minded ;  a  part  of 
the  remainder  will  be  of  low  intelligence  tho  not  what  we  now 
call  feeble-minded ;  a  few  will  be  sexually  abnormal  and  the  rest 
probably  victims  of  circumstances.^ 

PAUPERISM 

Why  is  a  pauper?  We  have  answered  this  question  in  the 
past  in  some  such  way  as  this :  A  pauper  is  a  person  who  will 
not  work  sufficiently  to  earn  his  living,  —  he  is  lazy  and  prefers 

1  Since  the  above  was  written  we  have  received  the  Report  of  the  Massachu- 
setts "  Commission  for  the  Investigation  of  the  White  Slave  Traffic,  So  Called." 
From  this  Report  we  learn  that  what  we  have  predicted  has  been  done,  and  this 
Commission  has  tested  the  mentality  of  a  group  of  prostitutes  with  the  follow- 
ing results : 

On  page  29  we  read  — 

"  Of  300  prostitutes  154  or  51  %  were  feeble-minded.  All  doubtful  cases  were 
r< -corded  as  normal.  The  mental  defect  of  these  154  women  was  so  pronounced 
and  evident  as  to  warrant  the  legal  commitment  of  each  one  as  a  feeble-minded 
person  or  as  a  defective  delinquent. 

"  At  the  Massachusetts  School  for  the  Feeble-minded  there  are  an  equal  num- 
ber of  women  and  girl  inmates,  medically  and  legally  certified  as  feeble-minded, 
who  are  of  equal  or  superior  mental  capacity." 

In  our  judgment  the  Commission  have  been  ultraconservative ;  no  doubt 
wisely  so,  for  their  purposes.     But  we  read  further  —  page  30  : 

"The  135  women  designated  as  normal,  as  a  class  were  of  distinctly  inferior 
intelligence.     More  time  for  study  of  these  women,  more  complete  histories  of 


i6  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

to  live  at  the  expense  of  someone  else.  Or,  he  is  a  person  who 
has  been  overtaken  by  misfortune  and  has  become  a  pauper 
because  of  circumstances  over  which  he  had  no  control.  Neither 
of  these  definitions  covers  all  the  cases. 

We  will  not  here  contend  for  what  might  be  considered  an 
extreme  view,  that  people  overtaken  by  misfortune  are  seldom 
allowed  to  become  paupers,  that  humanity  is  so  kind,  so  phil- 
anthropic that  it  is  always  willing  to  help  the  person  who  is 
desirous  of  helping  himself  and  that  the  misfortunes  of  Kfe  are 
overcome  by  this  mutual  helpfulness ;  nor,  on  the  other  hand, 
that  any  person  who  seems  to  be  lazy  and  unwiUingJ:o  work  is 
by  that  very  fact  defective  either  physically  or  mentally;  yet 
there  is  much  truth  in  each  of  these  statements.  Very  few  of  the 
paupers  are  so,  solely  because  of  misfortune.  Still  we  have 
many  reasons  for  believing  that  the  man  who  is  lazy  has  some- 
thing fundamentally  wrong  with  his  mind  or  his  body.  We 
know  now  of  a  large  group  of  people  who  were  thot  to  be  good- 

their  life  in  the  community  and  opportunity  for  more  elaborate  psychological 
tests  might  verify  the  belief  of  the  examiners  that  many  of  them  also  were  feeble- 
minded or  insane. 

The  mental  age  of  the  135  women  rated  as  normal,  as  measured  by  the  Binet 
Scale,  was  as  follows : 

17  had  the  mentality  of  a  12-year-old  child. 
71  had  the  mentality  of  an  11 -year-old  child. 
32  had  the  mentality  of  a  lo-year-old  child. 
4  had  the  mentality  of  a  g-year-old  child. 
II  were  not  tested. 
Quoting  further : 

"  Some  of  the  women  seen  at  the  Detention  House  were  so  under  the  influence 
of  drugs  or  alcohol  as  to  make  it  impossible  to  study  their  mental  condition. 
Others  at  the  Detention  House  and  in  the  prisons  had  used  alcohol  to  excess  for 
years,  and  in  the  time  available,  it  was  impossible  to  differentiate  between  alco- 
holic deterioration  and  mental  defect.  These  drunken,  alcoholic,  and  drug- 
stupefied  women  were  all  recorded  as  normal. 

"Of  the  135  women  rated  as  normal,  only  a  few  ever  read  a  newspaper_or 
book,  or  had  any  real  knowledge  of  current  events,  or  could  converse  intelli- 
gently upon  any  but  the  most  trivial  subjects.  Not  more  than  6  of  the  etu,, . 
number  seemed  to  have  really  good  mbids ."     (Italics  ours.) 


THE    PROBLEM    OF    PAUPERISM  17 

for-nothing,  shiftless,  lazy  people,  people  who  might  earn  their 
living  if  they  would.  We  now  know  that  the  condition  has 
been  due  to  the  hookworm  disease. 

The  lazy  boy  is  a  diseased  boy  or  a  defective  boy.  It  is  not 
natural  for  a  child  to  be  lazy.  Fundamentally  the  child  is  active 
and  industrious.  If  he  seems  to  be  lazy,  there  is  a  cause  for  it 
and  this  cause  must  be  sought  out  and  removed.  The  same  is 
probably  true  in  a  large  proportion  of  the  adult  cases. 

Let  us  now  look  at  this  matter  from  the  standpoint  of  feeble- 
mindedness. 

Any  person  who  is  feeble-minded,  who,  according  to  the  defi- 
nition, is  unable  to  compete  with  his  fellows  in  the  struggle  for 
existence,  must,  other  things  being  equal,  become  a  pauper. 
He  is  incapable  of  earning  his  own  living;  therefore  he  must 
live  at  the  expense  of  someone  else.  He  may  take  the  matter 
somewhat  into  his  own  hands  and  seize  upon  means  of  a  living, 
in  which  case  he  becomes  a  criminal;  or  he  may  quietly  and 
passively  submit  to  the  conditions,  and  then  he  becomes  a 
pauper  and  if  he  does  not  die  of  starvation  it  is  because 
society  takes  care  of  him.  But  we  are  not  confined  to  the 
a  priori  argument. 

Investigation  of  our  almshouses  shows  that  a  considerable  pro- 
portion of  the  inmates  are  mentally  defective.  While  we  have 
no  adequate  statistics  on  this  line,  it  is  highly  probable  that  at 
least  50  %  of  the  inmates  of  our  almshouses  are  feeble-minded. 
Because  of  mental  incapacity  they  have  failed  of  earning  enough 
for  their  own  support.  Nor  was  this  a  condition  of  later  Hfe 
only  nor  of  hard  times.  They  were  defective  children.  Their 
parents  and  grandparents  were  defective  —  some  of  them. 
They  should  have  been  looked  after  in  these  earher  stages  of 
the  problem.  They  are  where  they  are  thru  no  fault  of  their 
^wn  but  because  their  burdens  —  those  of  making  a  Hving  — 
-.2re  too  heavy  for  them.  Society  should  have  protected 
t'lem. 


l8  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


NE'ER-DO-WELLS 


Every  community  has  its  quota  of  people,  who,  because  of 
their  failure  to  act  in  harmony  with  those  who  are  definitely 
working  for  the  welfare  of  society,  may  perhaps  be  designated 
as  undesirable  citizens  or  ne'er-do-wells ;  while  not  paupers, 
they  often  have  to  receive  assistance  from  others ;  while  not 
criminal,  prostitute  or  drunkard,  are  still  shiftless,  incom- 
petent, unsatisfactory  and  undesirable  members  of  the  com- 
munity. In  the  past  the  careers  of  such  people  have  been 
accounted  for  by  declaring  that  they  were  wilful,  wayward  or 
ignorant. 

In  view  of  the  proportions  to  which  feeble-mindedness  has 
grown,  it  certainly  is  not  unwise  to  ask  the  question  —  may  not 
some  of  these  people  be  feeble-minded  ?  Is  it  not  possible  that 
they  have  not  learned  better  manners  and  habits  because  they 
could  not  ?  An  intelligent  person  learns  to  adapt  himself  to  his 
surroundings  even  tho  no  one  tells  him  what  he  ought  to  do. 
Many  times  these  people  are  the  laughing  stock  of  their  com- 
munity because  of  their  fooHsh  actions,  or  they  are  pitied  because 
of  their  lack  of  judgment.  But  whatever  the  feeling  toward 
them,  it  has  always  been  assumed  that  they  could  be  different 
if  they  would.  The  time  has  come  when  we  must  ask  in  regard 
to  such  cases  —  is  it  not  possible  that  they  are  incapable  of 
doing  differently?  It  is  certainly  true  that  such  people  often 
act  just  as  do  feeble-minded  people  of  the  moron  type.  It 
seems,  therefore,  highly  probable  that  a  goodly  proportion  of 
these  ne'er-do-wells  are  of  such  relatively  low  mental  level  that 
they  cannot  adapt  themselves  to  their  environment  ^^  the 
majority  do.^ 

TRUANTS 

The  problem  of  truancy  is  also  one  in  which  feeble-minded- 
ness is  involved.  Many  a  school  child  becomes  a  truant  be- 
cause he  cannot  succeed  in  school.     We  need  careful  tests  of 


THE   MORON  19 

the  mentality  of  truants.     One  such  study  shows  upwards  of 
80  %  of  them  feeble-minded. 

It  may  be  asked :  if  feeble-mindedness  is  such  a  potent  factor 
in  these  great  social  problems,  why  is  it  that  the  fact  has  not 
been  discovered  sooner  ?  The  answer  is  that  feeble-mindedness 
itself  in  its  higher  form  has  not  been  understood.  Even  yet 
''feeble-mindedness"  in  the  popular  mind  is  synonymous  with 
idiocy  or  imbecility  —  those  lower  grades  of  mental  defect  which 
are  often  manifest  in  the  faces  of  the  individuals.  Everyone 
recognizes  the  idiot  or  the  imbecile,  the  fooHsh  boy  or  the  silly 
girl ;  but  if  the  person  is  not  one  of  these  he  is  considered  to  be 
normal  and  responsible.  Not  until  we  began  to  test  intelli- 
gence and  had  secured  standards  showing  that  to  be  ''able  to 
manage  his  affairs  with  ordinary  prudence  "  a  person  must  have 
intelligence  beyond  that  of  a  12  year  old  child,  did  we  reaHze 
the  type  that  we  now  call  the  moron,  the  high  grade  defective. 

It  is  this  discovery  that  has  opened  ourjeyes.  to  the  actual 
condition  and  enabled  us  to  formulate  working  hypotheses  which 
have  proved  marvelously  fruitful. "  It '  is  j^roper  here  to  pay 
tribute  to  the  mind  that  gave  us  this  key  to^,  t^^ituation. 
More  than  to  anyone  else  we  owe  to  the  untiring  effoSfcand  the 
high  mtelligence  of  Alfred  Binet  the  method  for  the  solution  of 
this  part  of  the  problem. 

vj  Having  recognized  this  high  grade  type  of  feeble-mindedness' 
we  see  that  there  are  four  lines  along  which  investigation  must 
proceed  —  four  problems  to  be  solved.  .  _ 

First :  there  is  the  social  problem  to  which  we  have  already 
alluded,  the  question  of  the  place  that  the  feeble-minded  fill  in 
the  social  Hfe  of  to-day :  their  relation  to  crime,  pauperism,  in- 
temperance, the  social  evil,  incompetency,  and  disease. 

Second:  the  psychological  problem.  What  sort  of  mental 
processes  have  these  feeble-minded  people?  What  is  the  con- 
dition, for  instance,  of  their  memory,  attention,  sensation,  per- 
ception, emotion,  will  and  judgment  ? 


20  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

Third :  the  pedagogical  problem.  What  can  they  be  trained 
to  do  ?  How  shall  we  train,  educate  and  discipline  them  ? 
What  moral  training  do  they  get  or  can  they  take  ? 

Fourth  :  the  biological  problem.  What  is  the  cause  of  mental 
defectiveness?  What  is  the  physical  basis  of  it,  and  what 
methods  of  prevention  can  be  suggested  ?     I 

Since  September  1906  The  Vineland  Training  School  thru  its 
Department  of  Research  has  been  studying  this  problem  along 
the  above  lines.  The  work  is  still  going  on ;  the  psychological 
and  pedagogical  problems  are  still  under  investigation.  While 
much  has  been  found  out  and  many  suggestions  might  be  made, 
for  their  final  statement  these  problems  must  await  further 
study. 

The  social  and  biological  problems  are  the  subject  of  this 
book.  While  neither  of  these  is  completed,  yet  so  many  facts 
have  been  collected  that  it  is  already  possible  to  draw  some 
significant  conclusions. 


CHAPTER   II 
RELIABILITY   OF   THE    DATA 

Any  work  presenting  facts  so  new  and  startling  as  those  here 
contained  must  be  critically  examined  as  to  the  reliabiUty  of  the 
data.  Especially  is  this  true  when  the  data  are  not  only  new, 
but  if  true  must  become  the  basis  for  new  scientific  theories  and 
changed  social  action.  Our  data  show  the  large  element  of  hered- 
ity in  feeble-mindedness  and  on  the  basis  of  this  fact  it  is  pro- 
posed to  change  our  treatment  of  delinquents.  Furthermore 
our  facts  are  to  be  examined  in  relation  to  the  Mendehan  hypothe- 
sis. Both  sociologist  and  biologist  will  at  once  ask  —  is  it  sure 
that  we  have  reliable  facts,  or  has  someone  been  careless  in 
collecting  the  information,  reHed  too  much  upon  hearsay,  or 
drawn  conclusions  too  hastily  ? 

In  considering  this  matter  it  must  be  recognized  at  the  outset 
that  our  data  are  far  from  being  as  satisfactory  as  we  could 
wish.  There  are  several  reasons  for  this.  The  data  are  incom- 
plete. There  are  always  some  members  of  the  family  concern- 
ing whom  we  cannot  get  reHable  information.  Sometimes 
nothing  is  known  about  the  father,  occasionally  the  mother  is 
lost ;  sometimes  even  a  brother  or  a  sister  is  missing,  more  often 
it  is  the  grandparents,  and  more  often  still  the  cousins  or  the 
'  second-cousins.  Just  when  it  would  be  possible  to  draw  valuable 
conclusions  to  confirm  or  overthrow  some  hypothesis  the  necessary 
data  are  missing  from  the  family  records.  This  difficulty  can 
to  a  greater  or  less  extent  be  overcome  by  the  large  number  of 
cases,  where  certainly  some  will  be  found  fairly  complete,  or  where 
one  case  supplies  what  another  lacks. 


22  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

Again,  the  data  are  unsatisfactory  on  account  of  the 
fallibility  of  human  judgment.  The  distinction  between  the 
feeble-minded  and  the  normal  person  is  not  always  easy  to  make. 
Indeed  we  hold  that  there  is  no  sharp  and  fast  Hne  which  clearly 
divides  the  two  groups ;  as  a  result  we  have  a  large  number  of 
borderhne  cases.  We  cannot  pretend  that  we  have  always 
decided  these  cases  aright.  Many  cases  that  have  been  left 
undetermined  could  doubtless  have  been  easily  decided  had  we 
been  able  to  get  a  clear  statement  from  persons  who  knew  the 
individual  in  question.  In  solving  these  cases  we  have  followed 
the  rule  of  giving  the  benefit  of  the  doubt  to  the  individual; 
that  is  to  say,  we  have  never  charted  a  person  as  feeble-minded 
unless  we  had  ample  evidence  in  support  of  that  decision.  Cases 
where  we  were  not  satisfied  of  this,  we  have  dealt  with  in  different 
ways.  Where  there  is  an  entire  lack  of  information  we  have 
left  the  squares  or  circles  blank.  If  we  have  been  able  to  dis- 
cuss the  question,  presenting  the  facts  pro  and  con,  we  have 
used  the  question  mark  with  the  weight  on  the  normal  or  the 
feeble-minded  side  as  circumstances  seemed  to  warrant.  So 
that  ^'F  ?"  means  that  we  have  deliberated  over  the  matter  and 
on  the  whole  it  seems  highly  probable  tho  questionable  that 
the  person  is  feeble-minded.  In  like  manner  "N?"  means 
that  after  mature  dehberation  we  have  called  the  person 
normal,  altho  this  may  be  questioned.  In  consequence  of  our 
having  pursued  this  policy  all  charts  are  better  than  the  facts. 
If  we  had  complete  information  or  perfect  judgment  our  charts 
would  be  blacker  than  they  are. 

-—  MANNER   OF   OBTAINING  THE  DATA 

Another  question  in  considering  the  rehabihty  of  the  data  is : 
How  has  it  been  collected  ?  Are  the  methods  followed  and  the 
means  adopted  for  securing  the  facts  sufficiently  safe-guarded 
to  insure  results  that  are  reasonably  reliable  ?  We  must  devote 
some    time    to    a    consideration    of    this    point    because    it    is 


MANNER   OF   OBTAINING   THE   DATA  23 

fundamental  to  the  value  of  the  material  contained  in  this 
book. 

Early  in  the  work  of  this  laboratory  we  turned  our  attention 
to  the  question  of  the  causes  of  feeble-mindedness.  An  exami- 
nation of  the  admission  blanks  of  the  Institution  showed  that 
they  did  not  furnish  the  necessary  data.  Often  the  questions 
had  been  misunderstood,  sometimes  unanswered  thru  sheer 
ignorance ;  in  other  cases,  it  is  to  be  feared,  answered  in  such  a 
way  as  was  beheved  would  insure  the  child's  being  admitted. 
In  an  effort  to  remedy  these  defects  a  new  set  of  questions, 
called  for  convenience  an  "after  admission  blank,"  was  sent 
to  the  parents  with  the  special  appeal  for  them  to  cooperate 
with  us  in  our  efforts  to  benefit  their  child  and  thru  him  other 
children,  by  carefully  answering  the  questions.  The  set  of  ques- 
tions was  made  out  in  as  simple  language  as  possible,  going  into 
the  desired  matter  in  the  necessary  detail.  Another  blank  some- 
what similar,  with  medical  terms  substituted  for  the  more  com- 
mon phraseology,  but  in  many  places  asking  the  same  questions, 
was  sent  to  the  family  physician.  It  was  hoped  that  from  these 
two  questionnaires  checking  each  other,  information  would  be 
eHcited  which  would  enable  us  to  construct  a  chart  of  the 
family  which  would  be  of  distinct  value.  This  was  carried 
out  in  the  fall  and  winter  of  1908-9.  As  the  returns  from 
these  questionnaires  came  in,  charts  were  prepared. 

Two  facts  were  at  once  evident.  The  results  were  very  satis- 
factory in  many  cases,  and  showed  that  parents  were  eager  to 
cooperate  with  us.  But  the  returns  showed  also  that  the  results 
would  inevitably  be  hmited  by  the  inteUigence  and  education 
of  the  persons  filling  the  blank,  and  that  this  would  so  often  be  a 
serious  Hmitation  that  we  could  never  get  all  that  we  desired 
by  this  method. 

The  next  plan  evolved  to  supply  this  defect  was  that  of  emi- 
ploying  field  workers.  We  felt  sure  that  a  person  of  the  right 
qualifications  could  secure  the  desired  information. 


24  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

We  realized  keenly  the  importance  of  securing  the  right  person. 
The  qualities  that  we  considered  necessary  were :  a  pleasing 
manner  and  address  such  as  inspire  confidence ;  a  deep  and  true 
interest  in  humanity  which  would  enable  the  worker  to  have  a 
genuine  sympathy  with  the  people  whom  she  would  visit;  a 
high  degree  of  intelligence  which  would  enable  her  to  comprehend 
the  problem  of  the  feeble-minded,  to  learn  readily  the  types  and 
characteristics  of  the  children,  and  to  see  the  bearing  upon  the 
central  problem  involved  of  various  facts  that  might  come 
to  hand  ;  a  general  or  special  training  such  as  to  render  her  accu- 
rate and  eihcient  in  reporting  and  recording  results.  Good 
health  and  resourcefulness  were  of  course  included.  After  much 
inquiry  and  search  we  secured  a  woman  whom  we  believed 
would  be  satisfactory.  On  the  eighth  of  November,  1909,  Miss 
EHzabeth  S.  Kite  came  to  the  Training  School  to  begin 
special  training  for  the  work.  She  devoted  Tierself  for  a  number 
of  weeks  to  the  study  of  the  problem  of  feeble-mindedness  as  it 
could  be  seen  here.  She  read  and  observed,  asked  questions, 
interviewed  children,  learned  their  mentaHty  and  their  peculiari- 
ties until  she  had  a  good  idea,  not  only  of  feeble-minded 
children  but  of  the  different  grades  and  types.  When  this 
was  done  she  made  a  brief  list  of  children  with  whose  histories 
she  would  begin. 

In  the  preparation  of  the  cases  to  be  investigated  the  field  worker 
made  the  acquaintance  of  each  child,  prepared  a  sheet  contain- 
ing his  picture  and  the  facts  about  him,  so  as  to  avoid  any  pos- 
sibility of  confusion  when  she  came  later  to  talk  to  the  parents. 
On  these  sheets  were  also  all  the  addresses  that  the  Institution 
possessed  of  members  of  the  family.  Her  instructions  as  she 
went  out  were  in  the  main  those  that  were  later  embodied  in 
Bulletin  No.  2  of  the  Eugenics  Record  Office.  She  carried  no 
questionnaire  or  blank  to  be  filled  out,  but  rather  was  given  general 
directions  as  to  what  to  inquire  for.  The  reason  for  this  is  that 
a  questionnaire  too  often  elicits  a  definite  answer,  when,  as  matter 


FIELD    WORKERS  25 

of  fact,  there  is  no  definite  answer  to  be  given.  We  deemed  it 
wiser  to  explain  to  the  people  as  well  as  possible  the  purpose 
we  had  in  view,  and  then  allow  them  to  talk,  directing  their 
conversation  along  certain  special  lines,  such  as  to  bring  out  the 
facts  in  regard  to  any  members  of  the  family  who  rhight  be 
feeble-minded,  alcoholic,  insane,  or  dependent  upon  charity,  etc. 
or  on  the  other  hand  who  might  be  free  from  any  or  all  of  these. 

We  may  note  here  that  later  in  the  year  provision  was  made  for 
a  second  field  worker,  and  early  in  the  following  year  for  a  third. 
Miss  Jane  Grifhths  and  Miss  Maude  Moore  were  secured. 

The  field  workers  were  instructed  to  record  so  far  as  pos- 
sible the  exact  words  of  their  informant,  not  of  course  the 
whole  conversation,  but  the  salient  features.  They  were  to  do 
this  rather  than  to  give  us  their  interpretation  of  what  they 
heard.  They  of  course  also  gave  us  their  impressions  but  these 
were  recorded  as  impressions.  Having  the  original  words  of 
their  informers  it  would  be  possible  for  any  one  at  any  time  to 
draw  his  own  conclusions,  whereas,  if  we  had  only  the  field 
worker's  interpretation  we  could  never  be  certain  upon  what  that 
interpretation  was  based.  Reports  were  sent  in  to  the  labora- 
tory every  few  days,  whenever  a  case  was  finished,  or  if  a  long 
case,  at  least  every  week.  We  felt  that  it  was  neither  economi- 
cal nor  desirable  to  require  the  field  workers  to  make  a  daily 
report  or  in  any  way  to  encumber  them  with  clerical  work.  They 
made  rough  family  history  charts  in  the  field  and  sent  them  in 
with  their  reports.  Later  it  was  found  desirable  for  them  to 
make  these  charts  on  a  large  scale,  that  is,  without  crowding  in- 
dividual symbols,  leaving  room  to  record  on  the  chart  beside 
each  symbol  facts  in  regard  to  the  individual  represented  by  that 
symbol.  This  is  a  great  convenience  in  referring  to  the  chart 
and  the  data. 

The  field  workers  were  given  instruction  on  the  nature  of  evi- 
dence so  that  they  would  recognize  the  kind  of  information  that 
needed  corroboration  and  the  kind  that  was  practically  safe  and 


26  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

reliable  upon  the  testimony  of  the  single  informer.  They  were 
instructed  to  get  the  necessary  corroboration  in  all  cases  as 
far  as  possible.  In  the  case  of  contradictory  statements  or 
opinions,  all  statements  were  to  be  recorded  and  every  effort 
made  to  decide  between  the  conflicting  evidence. 

The  field  worker  went  armed  with  a  card  of  introduction  from 
the  Superintendent  of  the  Institution.  This  means  much.  The 
admissions  to  this  Institution  are  all  voluntary.  Parents 
ask  for  the  privilege  of  sending  their  children  here.  When  at 
last  they  are  admitted,  the  parents  are  happy.  They  receive 
answers  to  all  the  letters  they  write  inquiring  about  their 
children.  They  receive  periodical  reports  on  progress.  They 
are  allowed  to  come  to  see  the  child  at  any  time  desired,  and 
altho  they  are  urged  to  come  on  a  particular  day  of  the  week, 
they  are  not  refused  on  other  days.  Whenever  they  come  they 
receive  a  friendly  greeting  and  cheerful  word  from  the  Superin- 
tendent. Their  attitude  toward  the  Superintendent,  the  Insti- 
tution and  its  work  is  one  characterized  by  a  feeling  of  happi- 
ness and  confidence.  In  consequence  of  this,  when  the  field 
worker  approaches  the  family,  saying,  "I  have  come  from  Vine- 
land,  from  Superintendent  Johnstone,  I  bring  you  a  message 
from  your  Willie  or  your  Katie,"  she  is  received  with  the  most 
cordial  welcome.  And  when  she  sits  down  with  them  and 
gradually  discloses  the  fact  that  we  are  studying  Willie's  case 
and  that  we  want  information  along  such  and  such  lines,  they 
gladly  give  every  aid  in  their  power.  It  may  well  be  remem- 
bered in  this  connection,  that  the  majority  of  these  people  are 
of  the  type  that  like  to  talk  about  their  own  affairs. 

The  results  have  proved  eminently  satisfactory.  Not  that 
we  have  obtained  all  that  we  desired ;  not  that  we  have  scien- 
tifically accurate  information  on  all  the  phases  of  the  problem 
that  would  be  valuable  to  us ;  but  we  have  secured,  in  a  large 
number  of  cases,  thoroly  corroborated  facts  which  show  us 
many  conditions  little  understood  previously. 


DETERMINING   MENTALITY  27 

As  a  rule,  our  workers  have  easily  been  able  to  decide  the 
mentaUty  of  the  persons  they  saw.  In  some  cases,  indeed,  this 
was  not  so  easy  and  only  after  much  observation  and  ques- 
tioning of  neighbors  and  friends  as  to  the  conduct  and  hfe 
of  these  persons  was  it  possible  to  come  to  a  reasonably 
satisfactory  conclusion.  In  many  cases  it  has  been  impossible 
to  decide  even  after  all  our  care;  and  these  cases  are  therefore 
left  undetermined. 

In  regard  to  the  persons  not  seen,  and  especially  those  ot 
earher  generations  who  are  no  longer  Uving,  the  task  at  first  sight 
seems  more  difficult.    Some  even  assume  that  it  is  impossible  to 
determine  the  mentality  of  such  cases  unless  they  were  commonly 
recognized   idiots   or   imbeciles.      That    such   is   not   the   fact 
however  will  become  evident  from  a  little  thotful  consideration. 
It  must  be  remembered  that  the  field  worker  goes  out  with  a  back- 
ground of  knowledge  of  four  hundred  feeble-mmded  boys  and 
girls  men  and  women,  of  all  grades  of  intelligence,  and  a  great 
variety  of  temperaments  and  hereditary  influences.     With  this 
background  it  is  possible  to  project  any  individual  mto  a  known 
crroup  and  decide  that  he  is  or  is  not  like  someone  m  the  group. 
This  of  course  must  not  be  done,  and  is  not  done,  by  any  su- 
perficial resemblance  but  on  the  basis  of   many  fundamental 

characteristics.  ,  i-»      t 

The  idea  that  it  is  impossible  to  determine  the  mentahty  of 
a  person  who  is  three  or  four  generations  back  of  the  present  is 
partly  an  ill-considered  one  and  partly  the  result  of  erroneous 
logic  One  says -"I  don't  know  my  own  grandparents,  and 
as  for  my  great-grandparents  I  do  not  even  know  their  names. 
And  the  implied  argument  is  "If  a  person  as  intelhgent  as  I  am, 
does  not  know  his  grandparents  how  can  these  ignorant  defectives 
know  theirs."  The  argument  is  fallacious  thruout.  To  begm 
with,  family  ties  are  often  much  closer  with  these  defectives  than 
with  more  inteUigent  people  who  are  often  too  busy  to  keep  up 
these  relationships;    the  defectives  are  more  apt  to  remam  for 


28  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

generations  in  the  same  community,  while  the  intelligent  migrate 
and  so  leave  their  ancestors.  This  was  well  shown  in  The  Kalli- 
kak  Family  where  the  members  of  the  bad  side  are  practically 
all  to  be  found  within  a  narrow  area  around  the  ancestral  home, 
while  the  good  side  are  scattered  over  the  United  States  and 
Canada. 

Again,  the  fact  that  I  do  not  know  my  grandparents  does 
not  prove  that  no  one  now  Kving  knew  them.  As  a  matter 
of  fact  there  are  numerous  people  now  living  who  knew  them 
well. 

Further,  three  generations  back  is  easy  and  six  is  not  impos- 
sible. We  labor  under  a  fallacy  in  regard  to  this  point.  We  are 
apt  to  conclude  that  because  a  man  rarely  remembers  his  great- 
grandparent,  no  one  can  have  known  a  person  four  generations 
back.  It  is  a  surprise  to  us  to  be  told  that  there  are  persons  now 
living  who  remember  heroes  of  the  American  Revolution  !  John 
Doe  enhsted  in  the  Continental  army  in  1775  at  the  age  of 
twenty.  He  died  in  1845  ^-t  the  age  of  ninety.  Richard  Roe 
was  twelve  years  old  at  that  time  and  vividly  remembers  hearing 
the  old  man  Doe  tell  of  the  exciting  experiences  of  '76.  Richard 
Roe  is  eighty-one  years  old  now.  That  is  a  rare  occurrence  ? 
Certainly.  And  we  have  been  able  to  determine  that  a  person 
in  the  sixth  generation  back  was  feeble-minded  in  only  one  family 
out  of  327  —  the  Kallikak  family.  For  the  fifth  generation  we 
have  made  determinations  in  only  four  cases  and  even  these  are 
not  involved  in  our  conclusions. 

The  ease  with  which  it  is  sometimes  possible  to  get  satisfactory 
evidence  on  the  fifth  generation  is  illustrated  in  The  Kallikak 
Family. 

The  field  worker  accosts  an  old  farmer  —  "Do  you  remember 
an  old  man,  Martin  Kallikak  (Jr.),  who  Kved  on  the  mountain- 
edge  yonder?"  ''Do  I?  Well,  T  guess!  Nobody'd  forget 
him.  Simple,  not  quite  right  here  (tapping  his  head)  but  in- 
offensive and  kind.     All  the  family  was  that.     Old  Moll,  simple 


^DETERMINING   MENTALITY  29 

as  she  was,  would  do  anything  for  a  neighbor.  She  finally  died 
— burned  to  death  in  the  chimney  corner.  She  had  come  in  drunk 
and  sat  down  there.  Whether  she  fell  over  in  a  fit  or  her  clothes 
caught  fire,  nobody  knows.  She  was  burned  to  a  crisp  when 
they  found  her.  That  was  the  worst  of  them,  they  would  drink. 
Poverty  was  their  best  friend  in  this  respect,  or  they  would  have 
been  drunk  all  the  time.  Old  Martin  could  never  stop  as  long 
as  he  had  a  drop.  Many's  the  time  he's  rolled  off  of  Billy  Par- 
son's porch.  Billy  always  had  a  barrel  of  cider  handy.  He'd 
just  chuckle  to  see  old  Martin  drink  and  drink  until  finally  he'd 
lose  his  balance  and  over  he'd  go  !  "  ^ 

Is  there  any  doubt  that  Martin  was  feeble-minded  ? 

Physicians  conclude  upon  evidence  infinitely  weaker  than 
ours  that  Napoleon,  Julius  Caesar  and  St.  Paul  were  epileptic. 
Historians  reconstruct  out  of  a  few  charred  posts,  straw,  grain,  etc., 
the  habits,  mode  of  life  and  almost  the  mental  level  of  the  Swiss 
Lake  Dwellers.  Surely  the  person  who  rejects  our  data  on  the 
basis  that  such  things  cannot  be  determined,  would  discard  a 
large  part  of  the  world's  history  as  now  written. 

It  is  not  difficult  for  one  versed  in  the  subject  to  tell  whether 
or  not  a  man  was  feeble-minded  even  tho  he  hved  a  hundred  years 
ago,  providing  he  made  enough  impression  upon  his  time  for 
traditions  of  him  to  have  come  down.  As  a  matter  of  fact  it  is 
this  latter  proviso  which  cuts  out  most  of  the  people  back  of  the 
third  generation.  It  is  very  rare  that  we  find  feeble-minded 
persons  in  the  fourth  generation  unless  they  were  so  markedly 
feeble-minded  that  it  has  been  a  tradition  in  the  family  or  among 
the  neighbors  all  these  years.  This  has  sometimes  happened,  as 
will  be  seen  from  the  charts.  In  such  cases  of  tradition  there  is 
no  doubt  about  the  accuracy  of  the  determination.  Any  person 
living  or  dead,  who  was  so  abnormal  Lhat  neighbors  or  friends 
or  descendants  always  spoke  of  him  as  ''not  quite  right"  is  cer- 
tain to  have  been  decidedly  defective. 

^See  Kallikak  Family,  page  83,  Macmillan,  191 2. 


30  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

It  is  not  in  this  group  that  the  liability  of  error  enters, 
but  rather  in  the  one  that  we  call  moron,  the  individual  of 
whom  the  people  say,  ''Oh,  yes!  he  was  all  right,  but  he 
was  never  able  to  get  along."  Then  the  field  worker  pro- 
ceeds to  ask  many  careful  questions  from  which  she  satisfies  her- 
self that  the  reason  he  was  not  able  to  get  along  was  because  of 
lack  of  intelligence.  In  these  cases  it  is  possible  to  err.  In  all 
such  cases  we  have  insistently  maintamed  that  we  must  give 
the  benefit  of  the  doubt  to  the  individual's  intelligence,  and  we 
must  not  mark  him  feeble-minded  unless  the  evidence  is  clear. 

From  this  pohcy  which  we  have  constantly  maintained,  it  is  al- 
most certain  that  we  have  left  a  great  many  individuals  undeter- 
mined who  were  really  feeble-minded,  possibly  we  have  even 
marked  some  normal  who  were  feeble-minded ;  so  that  as  a  con- 
sequence our  charts  are,  as  already  stated,  better  than  the  facts. 

The  reader  will  not  forget  that  our  problem  is  a  comparatively 
easy  one,  the  determining  of  the  mentahty  of  the  various  persons, 
that  is,  whether  normal  or  feeble-minded. 

When  it  comes  to  a  question  of  determining  insanity,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  kind  of  insanity,  or  even  epilepsy  except  the  most 
obvious  cases,  or  the  diseases  from  which  these  persons  suffered, 
it  is  an  entirely  different  matter,  and  we  make  no  pretension  that 
our  records  here  are  absolutely  accurate.  We  quote  them  as 
they  were  reported  to  us  for  whatever  they  may  be  worth.  We 
have  exercised  every  possible  care  and  they  probably  have  con- 
siderable value,  but  how  much,  it  would  be  impossible  for  any- 
one to  determine. 

We  have  not  hesitated  to  test  and  check  up  the  work  of  our 
field  workers.  This  has  been  done  in  different  ways.  One  field 
worker  has  taken  a  case  that  another  field  worker  had  worked 
up  and  she  has  brot  in  an  entirely  independent  report.  In  some 
cases  the  field  worker  has  brot  in  reports  on  families  that  are 
known  to  others  in  the  Institution,  such  as  Superintendent 
Johnstone,  or  perhaps  a  matron  or  a  teacher.     At  times  the 


RE-INVESTIGATED    FAMILIES 


31 


writer  himself  has  gone  with  a  field  worker  after  her  report  was 
in  and  interviewed  the  various  persons  on  her  chart  and  come  to 
his  own  decision  as  to  whether  she  had  rightly  or  wrongly  marked 
them. 

Good  results  have  been  secured  by  sending  field  workers  out 
to  go  over  some  of  their  own  cases  to  discover  whether  a  second 
interview  (especially  after  the  lapse  of  some  months  and  the 
acquiring  of  more  experience)  would  result  in  changing  the 
marking  of  any  individuals. 

The  result  of  all  of  these  checkings  is  to  establish  beyond  ques- 
tion the  fact  that  our  records  are  conservative.  The  changes 
that  have  been  made  have  been  mostly  changes  from  ''undeter- 
mined" to  ''feeble-minded"  ;  from  "normal"  to  "questionable." 


CHART    255 


(N>- 


u-^r^      m 


®         tt 


Sv 

O 


j^J§S^     [N](N)(^[N]y<N)[il(N)li(N)(Nh-[N](N)[^ 


[n]  (n)  [n] 


k  '     '  J, 

„.,  FIEDI 


Cases  255  and  284  are  on  one  chart. ^  The  revised  chart  (here 
reproduced)  compared  with  the  original,  shows  that  the  re- 
sult of  a  second  examination  of  the  family  has  made  the  field 
worker  question  several  of  the  persons  formerly  marked  normal, 
and  change  one  that  was  marked  "questionably  normal"  to 
"definitely   feeble-minded."     This   last   change   has   a   further 

^  For  explanation  of  charts  see  page  48, 


32 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


interest  for  us ;  this  boy  a  younger  brother  of  Fred  K.  was  exam- 
ined by  the  writer  and  found  to  be  only  a  little  more  than  a  year 


CHART   255— REVISED 


®- 


N 


SyA  Sy 


<N)      n-T-o 


(N)(ir)|Nl-j-^i(N)|i(Nl    ^5>-y^N3(N)[N] 


[SSBSSi  [n][n](n)  ©Si 

DULL  IN  SCHOOL  INFANT 

L  PARALYSIS    L 


backward  and  consequently  was  not  declared  feeble-minded. 
That  was  three  years  ago.  Examined  again  recently  he  shows 
precisely  the  same  mentality  as  before,  which  now  makes  him 


CHART  250 
A 


O-rQ. 


CHART  250-REVISED 


(N> 


k 

XJRENCE   D.  I 

lONGOLUN  r    n 


A   S> 

^F?^ 


(N)  qS 


N?f 


N?) 


Nl     i^li 


.<5?)_ 


"JUST  LIKE    *•      3  VRS. 
FLORENCE"  DIPHTHERIA. 
••BRIGHT" 


more  than  three  years  backward  and  other  signs  clearly  show 
that  he  is  really  mentally  defective. 

We  thus  have  an  example  of  what  we  have  found  in  a  few  other 
cases  and  suspected  in  many,  that  we  often  get  these  children 


RE-INVESTIGATED    FAMILIES 


33 


soon  after  they  have  begun  to  slow  down  in  their  development. 
At  the  moment  they  do  not  show  more  than  a  Httle  backward- 
ness, but  as  time  goes 


CHART   264 


D 


I T- 

WELL-TO-DO 
LIVE  IN 
SWITZERLAND 


<5b 


o 


^]-T— O'  [f®S^ 


on  that  backwardness 
becomes  so  great  that 
it  is  definitely  feeble- 
mindedness. 

Case  250  is  a  Mon- 
golian type.  Further 
study  of  this  case  has 
enabled  us  to  add  a 
number  of  individuals, 
some  of  them  normal, 
and  to  fill  in  the  un- 

BABY 

determined     ones,     at 

least  to  the  extent  of  marking  them  normal  or  questionably 

normal.     It  has  also  added  two  feeble-minded. 

Case  264  is  a  case  supposed  to  have  been  caused  by  scarlet 
fever.     The  earher  account  of    this   case  suggests   that   since 

so    many    are    unde- 


CHART  264_REVISED 

I 

•QUEER" 


WELL-TO-DO 
UVEIN 
SWITZERLAND 


N 


2N0  WIFE 


th-T-O'  [N] 'S)  il  (N) 


termined  it  would 
be  possible  that  this 
might  be  an  heredi- 
tary case.  Our  second 
study,  while  not  en- 
tirely removing  that 
doubt,  has  added  some 
normal  people  with  the 
effect  of  making  it  a 
Httle  less  probably  an 
hereditary  case,  and 
therefore  more  prob- 
able that  the  assigned  cause,  scarlet  fever,  may  be  correct. 
Case  177  being  re-investigated  shows  no  significant  change. 


^"firs^ 


HENRY C 


YOUNG  CHILDREN. 


34 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


It  is  noticeable   that  Byron's   sister  at   the   time  of    the  first 
investigation    had    three    children,    two    of    whom    were    too 


CHART    177 


N 


<N)      (N> 


fNiiNirmn^n^(N)E^(r^ 


47avBs     2       y  d  MVRS 

13VRS 


S  18  S  S  11  4> 


O-T-ts 


H^?5¥5^^5S^ 


^  I         p  BYRON  D. 


(^S@& 


®  iSnb 


young  to  be  determined.  She  now  has  five  children  and  the  two 
undetermined  ones  are  now  old  enough  so  that  it  is  apparent 
that  they  are  normal. 

CHART  177 —REVISED 

lNl-r-(N)         (N)-r-lN][N](N)(N)[N](^[N]|Nl[N]^    ' 


J  I I  BYRON  D. 


(N)  i5W®5S> 


mrnrn 


Case  1 70  was  classified  as  probably  hereditary ;  further  study 
has  enabled  us  to  mark  a  number  of  individuals  on  the  mother's 
side  as  normal  who  were  before  undetermined,  but  it  has  also 
given  us  Imlay's  father  as  questionably  normal.     On  the  whole, 


RE-INVESTIGATED    FAMILIES 


35 


perhaps  the  probabihty  of  hereditary  feeble-mindedness  is  shghtly 
increased,  for  while  the  increase  in  the  number  of  normals  on  the 
maternal  side  makes  it  a  little  less  likely  that  there  was  feeble- 


CHART    170 


a 


IT  WIFE  HUsVanO  3RD  wife  L_J  19T  WIFE «  6  VHS.  '^- 


i3"5^ 


,-vii    H    •  (53K5S)  Ei/N)(+)i(N)(N) 

m 

mindedness  in  that  family,  on  the  other  hand  the  questioning 
of  the  father's  normahty  with  the  addition  of  his  parents,  the 
father  of  whom  was  entirely  unknown  to  his  w^ife's  family,  makes 
it  look  suspicious. 

CHART  170 -REVISED 

(n)-k9     ^ 


»OWIFE  liJJ  1ST  WIFE        d. 


2NO  d.  6YR3. 

HUSBAND  HYDRO- 

CEPHALUS 


\N) 


a  ..!,(§  1^1^ (§^T^(o) do (N)(N) 

kJSYRS.  16  VRS.       17  VRS.  /  jNj  CEPHALUS 

/         ^ 


m 


M^ 


Case  189,  which  was  recorded  as  probably  hereditary,  has 
been  extended  very  much  as  will  be  seen  by  comparing  with  the 
original  chart.     The  probabihty  of  this  being  an  hereditary  case 


36 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


seems  to  be  a  little  reduced  and  yet  by  no  means  entirely  re- 
moved. There  are  some  undetermined  on  the  maternal  side  who 
may  have  been  defective ;    while  on  the  father's  side  there  re- 


CHART   189 


BESSIE  T.  BABY 


mains  a  good  degree  of  probability  that  there  was  defect.     The 
ugly  and  heartless  disposition  may  be  evidence  of  this. 

In  Case  97  we  have  been  able  to  confirm  the  previous  findings 
and  to  add  several  details,  including  five  more  defectives. 


CHART  189— REVISED 


N 


■<N)    b     (N) 


EHnO      (fe(N)(N>~HN](^[ig[^tl  \5q^ 

jSy                             1  NERVOUS  LARGE  {head 

HEARTLESS                        I  MELANCHOLY  J 

r^  BOTH  HAVE 

m      I  WHOLE   FAMILY        VERY  NERVOUS                LARGE  HEADS 


0      I       WHOLE   FAMILY 


6(fe0Ci)^--r<N)^t|[Nl(N)^li](N)6[^i   dH 

DISPOSITION  ^5);^^"        \  I       EACH  HAS  AM.  H4VF    LARCF  HFAtK! 


rSoS^[§o® 


VERY 

BRIGHT  ALL  d.  OF 

MENINGITIS 


A  comparison  of  the  original  and  revised  charts  in  Case  i  shows 
that  the  father  of  Gertrude  upon  further  examination  has  been 
found  to  be  defective.  The  maternal  grandmother  is  normal  and 
two  of  the  persons  marked  undetermined  are  now  considered 
questionably  normal. 


RE-INVESTIGATED    FAMILIES 


37 


It  will  be  seen  that  all  of  these  changes  are  in  the  direction 
of  making  the  histories  worse  rather  than  better.  This  is  natural 
because  we  were  all  more  conservative  in   the   beginning  and 


CHART    97 


A    I 

o 


GRAND 
FATHER 
OF  CASE 


NT^~  **"  YOUNG.  ^ , 


the  field  workers  were  not  so  familiar  with  feeble-mindedness. 
They  did  not  recognize  the  finer  symptoms  and  were  not  wiUing 
to  call  anybody  feeble-minded  who  did  not  have  some  of  the 

CHART  97— REVISED 

D-rO 

INBRED 

DEFECTIVE 

FAMILY 


^~"  B      "NOT  LIKE  V^y  GRAND 

LOW  GRADE    THE  REST"   ^— ^  FA  lUFl 


^^S^j<5S6^^r^^-^ 


©  iS"^©SS©S 


T 


KARL  N.      YOUNG  CHILDREN 


larger  marks.  As  they  came  to  have  greater  familiarity  with 
persons  known  to  be  feeble-minded  they  began  to  recognize  the 
more  obscure  symptoms  and  were  able  to  see  somewhat  beneath 


38 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


the  surface.  They  also  learned  how  to  get  information  under 
difhcult  circumstances  where  in  their  earlier  experience  they 
were  baiSied. 

In  a  field  like  this  one  must  not  look  for  mathematical  accu- 
racy, nor  in  the  study  of  the  human  mind,  either  normal  or  ab- 


CHART    1 


D 


<^ 


d-p(5^"5Wp©S^^^ 


"4   VRS.  <14    YRS. 

k 

GERTRUDE  B. 

normal,  can  the  student  wait  for  certainty  before  formulating 
his  theories.  The  physician  who  waited  until  the  facts  on 
which  he  bases  his  diagnosis  were  absolutely  proved  would  often 

CHART   1— REVISED 


p-r^ 


INl  lN?l 


N)(N 


A  YRS.  A  YRS.  , 

ll 

GERTRUDE  E. 

wait  until  the  patient  was  dead.  It  is  all  a  matter  of  probabiUty. 
It  is  true  that  the  probabiUty  may  be  made  so  high  in  some 
cases  that  it  amounts  to  what  we  call  practical  certainty. 

In  all  of  the  material  presented  in  this  book  we  have  aimed  at 


RE-INVESTIGATED    FAMILIES 


39 


that  high  degree  of  probability  so  that  we  can  say  of  every  family 
history,  while  it  may  be  very  incomplete,  yet  as  far  as  it  goes  it 
is  true.  Whatever  conclusions  can  be  deduced  from  the  facts 
here     presented     are  ^^^^^  ^^ 


3RD  HUSBAND 


practically  sure,  and 
one  can  go  with  some 
degree  of  probabihty 
much  farther  even 
than  we  have  gone. 

Perhaps  the  most 
convincing  evidence 
on  this  matter  may  be 
the  case  of  Thomas 
C,  Case  17. 

This  case  was  a  very 
difficult  one  to  follow  out,  and  after  many  delays  and  much 
trouble  in  getting  at  the  family,  the  field  worker  felt  that  she 
had  given  all  the  time  that  she  ought  to  devote  to  one  family 


"QUEER"  |a 

I  d,  d.  2rio  HUSBAND  ^^«v|         I  *• 

CTIMATt  '     .ST  HUSBAND 

4  B 

THOMAS  C. 

fife)  65b 


CHART   17 -REVISED 


D 


O 


3RD  HUSBANP 


cHro    6-66  i-T^ 

!i;«1'p5?"     •■WASTEFUL"  y  d.  d.        2„o  HUSBAND  AUISHOU; 

'"SANE  J  AUISHOUSE. 


"FEEBLE-niNDED 
OR  INSANE 


ILLEGITIMATE 


Z  WORTH-"CRAZY    2        -LYINC  —  I  SPEECH    ^^\    I l^^«>t^  I  ^^ 

LESS  Jill"     BOTH    JOE"  AUI8H0USE  LAZY  DEFECT    ALMSV  «t?^*^  ^ 

GLUTTON  A  -SHIFTLESS"  HOUSEV  ■ 


SHOT  ^_     ^IL    4YRS.  ^^f^-     *^^^-    3YRS. 

mSWIFE  BOTH  IN  OLD  <"•'*  0">        OLD 

CHILDREN'S  HOME  APPEAR  NORMAL  NOW 

and  consequently  sent  in  her  report.     The  result  is  shown  in 
the  upper  chart. 

Recently  Miss  Florence  Givens  Smith,  field  worker  for  the  State 


40  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

Charities  Aid  Association,  wrote  us  that  in  the  course  of  her  in- 
vestigation she  had  studied  a  family,  one  member  of  which  was  at 
Vineland,  and  she  would  be  glad  to  give  us  what  she  had  found. 
We  of  course  accepted  this  generous  offer  with  the  result  that 
from  the  data  thus  furnished  we  were  able  to  make  the  revised 
chart.  The  difference  in  the  two  charts  is  striking  and  confirms 
what  was  said  above,  namely,  that  when  the  facts  are  known 
the  charts  become  blacker  than  we  have  usually  made  them. 
Another  point  is  well  brot  out  here,  in  regard  to  the  question 
of  applying  to  later  charts,  principles  or  laws  that  have  been 
determined  thru  earher  study.  For  example :  it  is  perfectly 
clear  that  if  both  parents  are  feeble-minded  all  of  the  children 
are  feeble-minded.  This  being  true,  we  had  a  right  to  mark  all 
of  the  children  on  our  first  chart  in  this  case  feeble-minded, 
since  both  parents  are  in  this  condition.  But  we  have  never 
done  this.  The  markings  that  we  have  given  are  invariably 
those  which  came  from  the  objective  evidence,  and  not  from 
any  theoretical  consideration.  So  that  in  this  case  the  work  of 
Miss  Smith  on  this  family  simply  fills  in  what  the  theory  would 
call  for.  But  perhaps  someone  a  little  more  skeptical  would 
wish  to  ask,  ''What  evidence  have  you  that  this  second  field 
worker  has  not  had  merely  a  little  different  standard,  and  so  has 
marked  people  feeble-minded  where  your  first  field  worker 
marked  them  "undetermined"?  To  answer  this  question  I 
give  extracts  from  Miss  Smith's  report.  I  make  these  somewhat 
extensive  both  because  they  are  so  convincing  and  also  because 
it  shows  well  the  social  side  of  this  type  of  family. 

"  The  sources  for  the  following  information  are  :  records  of  the 
Institution  for  Epileptics,  Almshouse  records.  Board  of  Cliil- 
dren's  Guardians,  Overseer  of  the  Poor,  and  eight  intelHgent 
and  responsible  men  and  women. 

History  of  Mabel,  Annie,  and  Mary  Corner:  these  are  nieces 
of  Tho7nas  C. 

Mabel  the  oldest  of  the  fraternity  was  born  at  about 

1905.     She  was  committed  to  the  Children's  Home  in  January 


A    SAMPLE    FIELD    WORKER'S   REPORT  41 

191 2,  was  returned  to  her  father  for  a  time  but  recommitted 
July  2,  191 2.  Is  considered  feeble-minded.  Her  teacher  says 
that  she  is  mild  and  obedient ;  is  poor  in  school  work  but  makes 
some  progress  ;  is  fair  in  hand-work. 

Annie  Corner,  born  January  8,  1906,  was  committed  to  the 
Children's  Home  in  January  191 2;  was  returned  to  her  father 
and  recommitted  in  July  191 2.  She  is  defective.  Her  teacher 
says  that  she  is  of  a  different  type  from  her  sister  Mabel.  She 
is  quick  in  taking  directions,  but  stubborn.  Makes  progress 
more  rapidly  than  Mabel. 

Mary  Corner  was  born  in about  1909.  She  is  not  attend- 
ing school  and  it  is  as  yet  too  early  to  decide  as  to  her  mentality. 

The  Father,  Will  Corner  —  Brother-in-law  of  Thomas  C. 

Will  Corner  was  born  at but  has  lived  for  some  years  past 

in    the   neighborhood    of .     He    drinks    but  could    not  in 

any  sense  be  called  alcohoHc.  He  is  not  inclined  to  work  unless 
forced  to  do  so  by  immediate  necessity  ;  never  works  regularly  or 
steadily,  only  by  the  day  or  week,  usually  the  former.  Is  fond  of 
fishing  and  trapping.  He  is  rather  unusually  large,  strong  and 
able  bodied.  Wears  his  hair  long  and  has  a  most  unkempt 
appearance.  Is  boy-Hke  in  his  lack  of  responsibihty ;  good- 
natured,  and  unreHable.  When  in  town  is  the  butt  of  jokes  at 
the  corner  grocery.  At  present  is  Hving  with  his  former  wife's 
aunt  who  receives  a  pension  and  assists  in  supporting  them  both. 

Corner's  first  wife  came  from  .     She  was  feeble-minded. 

Is  said  to  have  died  from  going  out  of  doors  barefooted  soon  after 
achild  was  born.     By  her,  Corner  had  one  child.     After  her  death, 

while  working  in  the  neighborhood  of ,  he  met  and  eloped  with 

Fanny  C.   (sister  of  Thomas  C.)  who  became  his  second  wife, 

taking  her  to to  be  married.     During  their  married  Hfe  they 

lived  in and  -^ — .     Received  charity  from  private  sources. 

Will  Corner  had  a  brother  Ed  who  was  a  marble  cutter  and 

lived  in  .     It  is  thought  that  he  moved  to several 

years  ago.  He  is  said  to  drink  heavily.  Another  brother  known 
as  "Lying  Joe"  was  a  steady  drinker.  Another  brother,  James, 
was  known  as  "Crazy  Jim"  and  was  an  imbecile.  He  did  odd 
jobs  in  return  for  food  and  tobacco  and  was  often  imposed  upon 

on  account  of  his  lack  of  intelligence.     Miss says  that  he  was 

extremely  gluttonous  and  that  she  remembers  as  a  child  seeing 
plates  of  food  heaped  up  for  him.     One  time  when  there  was  a 


42  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

wedding  in  the  family  they  gave  Jim  as  much  as  they  thought 
he  could  eat  in  the  kitchen  and  then  sent  him  home  with  a  basket 
to  his  mother.  On  the  road  he  stopped  to  eat  more,  and  was 
later  found  by  the  side  of  the  road  in  great  agony  from  cramps. 
He  was  physically  strong  and  was  a  good  worker  when  put  at  a 
simple  task,  but  was  entirely  unable  to  plan  work.  He  was 
found  dead  in  a  barn.  Cause  of  death  was  thought  to  have 
been  heart  trouble.  A  brother,  Paul,  is  said  to  have  been  a  worth- 
less drunkard.  A  sister,  Jennie,  is  remembered  to  have  been  slow 
in  school.  Another  sister,  Mamie,  was  born  about  1842  and  died 
in  1906  of  general  debihty.  During  the  latter  part  of  her  life 
she  had  a  rupture  but  continued  to  work  out  by  the  day.  She 
is  said  to  have  been  a  fairly  good  housekeeper.  A  brother,  George, 
is  said  to  have  been  a  man  of  industry  and  good  habits,  and  to 
have  saved  some  money.  His  two  sons  are  said  to  have  turned 
out  badly,  one  is  reported  as  an  habitual  drunkard,  and  the  other 
is  said  to  have  gotten  in  trouble  for  shooting  his  wife.  Dan, 
another  brother,  was  born  in  1840.  He  is  illiterate  and  decidedly 
alcoholic. 

The  Mother. 

Millie  C.  (sister  of  Thomas  C.)  was  born  in  1881.  When  a 
small  child  she  was  sent  to  the  County  Almshouse  wdth  her 
parents,  her  sisters,  Carrie  and  Violet,  and  her  brothers,  Thomas 
and  Henry.  At  about  ten  years  of  age  she  was  taken  from  the 
almshouse  and  remained  in  a  private  home  until  she  was  sixteen 
years  of  age  when  she  ran  away  with  Will  Corner  and  married 

him.     Mrs. says  that  she  was  decidedly  defective,  was  slow 

to  learn  in  school,  and  was  incompetent  in  housework.  If  left 
alone  she  would  not  finish  a  task.  Her  facial  expression  in- 
dicated mental  defect  and  she  sometimes  drooled  at  the  mouth. 
When  her  first  baby  was  born  she  was  still  a  girl  in  short 
dresses.  She  was  entirely  incapable  of  managing  her  household, 
and  her  children  were  badly  neglected.  In  manner  she  was 
quiet,  peaceable  and  dull.  She  could  read  and  write  a  Httle. 
She  died  of  tuberculosis  in  19 10,  when  29  years  of  age. 

Thomas  C.^s  Brothers  and  Sisters. 

May  C.  was  born  in  1872.  When  a  small  child,  was  in  the 
Almshouse  with  her  parents,  two  brothers  and  a  sister.     Twice 

was  taken  from  the  almshouse  by  Mrs.  .     The  last  time 

Mrs.  took  her,  she  had  a  small  infant.     After  staying  for 


A    SAMPLE    FIELD    WORKER'S   REPORT  43 

eight  or  nine  months  she  deserted  the  baby  and  ran  away  with 
a  half-witted  fellow  named  Smalley,  and  came  back  after  several 
weeks  saying  that  she  had  married  him.     For  several  years  they 

have  hved  in  ,  have  drunk,  quarreled  and   often   been  in 

Pohce  Court.  May's  reputation  for  immoraHty  is  well  known. 
She  has  had  four  children.  The  last  one  which  is  very 
dark  is  thought  to  belong  to  one  of  the  ItaHans  who  frequented 
the  house.     The  family  were  ordered  to  leave  town  in  the  fall 

of  191 2,  and  moved  to .     Two  of  the  children  attend  school 

and  are  considered  feeble-minded.  Smalley  is  guilty  of  having 
relations  with  his  wife's  oldest  child.     In  speaking  of  May's 

mentaHty,  Mrs. says  that  she  is  not  bright,  is  childlike,  does 

not  consider  what  the  results  of  her  actions  will  be ;  is  quarrel- 
some and  immoral.  She,  her  husband,  and  children  have  the 
reputation  of  stealing.  (Smalley  belongs  to  a  degenerate  faniily 
well  known  in  the  neighborhood.) 

Mazie  C.  was  born  in  1874.     When  about  14  years  of  age  she 

went  to  Hve  with  Mrs. and  remained  with  her  for  four  years, 

when  she  went  to  her  aunt.  She  married  a  man  who  drank,  but 
who  was  superior  to  herself,  but  she  does  not  live  with  him. 
Has  Hved  with  various  men.  At  the  time  of  the  investigation 
was  hving  with  a  man  named  Joe  Corner.  Has  been  caring  for 
her  sister's  children  since  her  death.  Is  a  poor  housekeeper, 
never  stays  long  in  one  place.  Has  a  defect  of  speech  and  is 
undoubtedly  feeble-minded. 

Nell  C.  was  born  in  1876.  She  is  said  to  have  been  brought  up 
on  Warwick  mountain.  Her  first  child  Charhe,  born  November 
2,  1906,  is  said  by  her  family  to  belong  to  a  son  of  B B . 

She  then  married  a  foreigner  and  the  family  claim  that  he 
deserted  her  after  having  two  children  by  her.  After  that  she 
lived  with  her  mother.  She  died  at  child  birth.  This  last 
child,  which  was  still-born,  was  said  to  be  by  her  mother's  consort. 
Her  children,  who  are  thought  to  be  by  the  foreigner,  are  Sam, 
born  in  1908,  and  Mag,  born  1909. 

Nancy  C.  was  born  at .     She,  with  several  other  members 

of  her  family,  was  sent  to  the  Almshouse  when  a  child  of  seven. 

By  poor  officials  she  was  placed  in  the  family  of  Mr.  but 

was  returned  because  she  was  considered  feeble-minded.     On 

Tulv  12  she  was  committed  to  the  care  of  the  State  Board  of 

■  uardians  and  was  placed  out  by  them.     She  became 


44  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

of  age  in  191 2,  at  which  time  she  was  Hving  with  a  Mrs. .     She 

was  visited  by  the  research  worker  from  Vineland  who  considered 
her  high  grade  feeble-minded.     She  said  that  she  expected  to 

marry  a  man  whom  Mr. had  picked  out  for  her.     She  had 

not  seen  him  yet  but  was  dehghted  at  the  prospect.  Is  fond  of 
dress  and  fixing  up  her  hair. 

Thomas  C.  was  born  in  1892.  As  a  baby  his  mother  says  that 
he  was  well,  but  when  about  ten  years  old  began  having  "fits." 
He  was  placed  out  by  the  State  Board  of  Children's  Guardians 
but  was  found  to  be  feeble-minded  and  was  transferred  to  The 
Training  School  at  Vineland  in  1903. 

Vernon  C.  was  in  the  County  Almshouse  with  his  parents  in 
1897,  at  which  time  he  was  recorded  as  being  three  years  old. 
In  1 901  he  was  committed  to  the  care  of  the  State  Board  of 
Children's  Guardians  but  was  found  to  be  epileptic  and  was 
committed  to  Skillman  Village  in  1907.  He  ran  aw^ay  from  Skill- 
man  and  has  not  been  returned.  The  records  show  that  he  has 
had  no  convulsions  since  1899.  He  had  a  pronounced  defect  of 
speech  and  stuttered  badly.  Was  considered  a  fair  patient  and 
played  the  trombone  in  the  band.  His  mother  says  that  he  was 
well  as  a  baby  but  that  he  began  having  ''fits"  when  five  or  six 
years  old.     (There  is  probably  another  sister.) 

The  Father-in-law  of  Thomas  C.^s  Sister  Millie. 

Milton  Corner  was  bound  out  as  a  boy  to  Gov.  .     He 

had  Kttle  schooHng  and  was  ilHterate.  The  Governor's  family 
do  not  remember  much  that  would  throw  light  upon  his  men- 
taHty.  The  family  were  always  wretchedly  poor,  always  lived 
from  hand  to  mouth,  and  none  of  them  were  to  be  depended  upon. 
They  always  thought  that  Milton  would  have  gotten  along  better 
if  he  had  not  had  such  an  extravagant  wife.  They  lived  for 
many  years  in  a  Httle  log  cabin  near  the  station.  His  son-in-law 
says  that  from  the  time  he  first  knew  him,  beginning  when 
Milton  was  40  years  of  age,  his  mind  seemed  to  be  affected.  He 
would  sit  by  the  stove  for  hours  at  a  time  and  would  not  notice 
anything,  often  could  not  be  persuaded  to  go  to  bed.  Would 
not  tell  anyone  of  his  plans  and  would  sometimes  wander  off  for 
several  days  at  a  time.  He  had  delusions  of  sight  and  imagined 
that  people  were  after  him.  During  the  latter  part  of  his  fife 
his  wife  had  to  work  out  to  support  the  family.  He  -^cver  owiitd 
property  but  rented  the  log  cabin  in  which  he  live  ■ 


A   SAMPLE   FIELD   WORKER'S   REPORT  45 

Thomas  C.^s  Father. 

Lemuel  C.  was  born  in  1855.  The  field  worker  at  Skillman 
believes  that  he  was  feeble-minded,  she  also  reports  that  he  was 
a  laudanum  fiend,  and  that  he  consumed  it  in  large  quantities. 

They  were  living  on  Mountain  in  a  log  house.     They  are 

described  as  wretchedly  poor  and  destitute.  One  informer 
remembers  seeing  them  seated  around  a  table  composed  of  boards 
eating  out  of  hollow  squashes  and  drinking  from  old  tomato 
cans.  Li  1897,  Lemuel  C,  his  wife  and  his  children.  May,  15, 
Nell,  9,  Nancy,  7,  Thomas,  5,  and  Vernon,  3,  were  committed  to 
the  County  Almshouse.  Lemuel  C.  died  there  at  the  age  of  49 
of  tuberculosis.     He  had  rheumatism  severely. 

Thomas  C.^s  Mother. 

Phoebe  E.  was  born  about  1858.  She  does  not  know  her 
exact  age.  She,  as  well  as  her  sisters,  were  given  out  to  be  brot 
up.  She  knows  nothing  about  her  parents  except  that  they  are 
dead.  She  claims  that  her  first  husband  deserted  her  just  be- 
fore the  birth  of  her  first  child.  She  told  the  field  worker  at  Skill- 
man  that  she  feels  sure  that  he  ran  off  with  her  sister ;  at  any  rate 
her  sister  disappeared  at  the  same  time  and  neither  of  them  have 
been  heard  of  since.  She  then  married  or  lived  with  Lemuel  C. 
and  had  eleven  children.  The  youngest,  she  says  that  she  gave 
to  a  woman  but  she  cannot  remember  her  name.  She  heard 
later  that  the  child  died.  After  going  to  the  Almshouse  with 
C.  she  ran  off  with  another  man  from  the  county  house;  but 
claims  that  she  deserted  him  in  the  night.  She  never  stays  in 
one  place,  often  tramps  for  miles  to  make  a  visit,  stays  a  few 
days  and  then  goes  on.  She  claims  that  she  married  her  third 
consort  several  years  ago.  She  has  been  living  with  him  for 
several  years  off  and  on  in  a  place  called  Roaring  Gulch.  She 
is  a  shiftless  housekeeper,  is  both  feeble-minded  and  epileptic. 
Says  that  she  has  always  had  ''fainting  spells,"  drops  down  any- 
where for  no  apparent  reason.  She  feels  the  spells  coming  on 
and  screams.     Has  always  been  immoral. 

In  concluding  this  topic  it  may  be  said,  that  perhaps  after  all 
the  best  evidence  of  accuracy  in  the  data  will  be  discovered  by  a 
study  of  the  charts  themselves,  and  the  figures  that  have  been 
compiled  from  the  charts.      The  internal  evidence  of    a  high 


46  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

degree  of  accuracy  is  to  us  very  strong.  We  trust  it  will  be  ap- 
parent also  to  the  reader.  Our  work  has  been  full  of  surprises ; 
we  have  had  no  preconceived  opinions ;  we  have  had  impressions 
and  feelings  that  we  should  find  such  and  such  things.  These 
have  as  often  been  contradicted  as  approved.  At  different  times 
in  the  investigation  we  have  thot  that  the  figures  were  going  to 
show  now  one  thing  and  now  another.  As  examples  of  this  we 
may  mention  the  question  of  the  influence  of  alcohol  and  the 
Mendelian  law  as  appHed  to  the  heredity.  Not  until  the  last 
of  the  data  were  worked  up  did  we  have  any  idea  how  these  mat- 
ters were  coming  out.  We  realize  that  to  many  people  our  con- 
clusions will  be  unacceptable.  Such  persons  will,  if  they  cannot 
find  a  flaw  in  the  argument,  be  apt  to  question  the  rehability 
of  the  data. 


CHAPTER   III 
THE  DATA 

THE   CHARTS 

Each  chart  represents  in  graphic  form  the  history  of  a  family. 
The  starting  point  is  always  the  child  who  is  in  The  Vineland 
Training  School,  designated  hereafter  for  the  sake  of  brevity  as 
our  child. 

The  following  explanation  will  enable  the  reader  to  under- 
stand the  charts. 

CLASSIFICATION 

Our  327  families  naturally  fall  into  six  fundamental  groups  as 
follows  : 

1 .  Where  feeble-mindedness  is  certainly  hereditary  —  desig- 
nated hereafter  for  brevity's  sake  as  the  Hereditary  Group  or 
Hereditary  (H).     164  families. 

2.  A  group  which,  while  not  so  certainly  hereditary,  yet 
shows  high  degrees  of  probability  that  the  feeble-mindedness 
is  hereditary  —  designated  as  Probably  Hereditary  (P.H.). 
34  families. 

3.  A  group  in  which  there  is  no  evidence  of  hereditary  feeble- 
mindedness, but  in  which  the  families  show  marked  neuropathic 
conditions  —  designated  as  the  Neuropathic  Group  or  Neuro- 
pathic (Neu.).     37  families. 

4.  A  group  where  it  is  clear  that  some  accident  either  to 
mother  or  child,  including  disease,  injury  at  birth,  etc.,  is  the 
cause  of  the  feeble-mindedness  —  designated  the  Accident  Group. 
57  families. 

5.  A  small  group  where  it  has  been  impossible  to  assign  a 

47 


48  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

cause.  The  family  history  is  known  and  is  good ;  there  are  no 
accidents.  We  have  designated  this  No  Cause  Discovered,  or 
briefly,  No  Cause  (N.C.).     8  famiUes. 

6.  A  group  where  so  Httle  of  a  definite  character  could  be 
learned  that  it  was  impossible  to  classify  them  —  designated 
as  Unclassifiable  (Unci.).  27  families.  This  group  is  not 
counted  at  all  in  making  up  the  percentages.  One  case  in  this 
group  was  thrown  out  because  it  proved  to  be  a  case  of  insanity 
and  not  of  feeble-mindedness.     See  Chart  314. 

These  groups  will  be  discussed  in  the  Chapter  on  Causes. 

Each  of  these  fundamental  groups  of  charts  is  subdivided  and 
arranged  according  to  mental  age  as  determined  by  the  Binet- 
Simon  Measuring  Scale  of  Intelligence.  This  gives  the  child's 
mentahty  in  terms  of  a  normal  child,  e.g.  mentahty  7  means  like 
a  normal  or  average  child  of  7  years  in  intelligence.  We  may 
speak  of  a  man  40  years  old  as  having  a  mentahty  of  any  age 
from  I  to  12.     We  say  he  tests  7,  or  his  mental  age  is  7. 

EXPLANATION  OF  SYMBOLS 

Male  Female 

H  ^p  Feeble-minded. 

[n]  (n)  Normal. 

[f?|  (R)  Probably  feeble-minded. 

[n?|  @  Probably  normal. 

I     I  r^  Mentality  undetermined. 

L  Shows  the  child  in  the  Vineland  Training  School. 

I  Miscarriage  or  still  birth. 

^^  Under  a  symbol  indicates  that  the  individual  was  in  some  public 

Institution. 


IN 


In  the  first  the  digit  shows  the  number  of  persons  represented  by  the 
symbol,  i.e.  two  normal  men.  In  the  second  the  digit  shows  the 
number  of  children,  i.e.  a  feeble-minded  woman  had  three  children. 


d.  Died. 

d.  Inf.       Died  in  infancy  (under  2  years). 


EXPLANATION   OF    SYMBOLS  49 

Each  chart  is  accompanied  by  a  condensed  description  of  the 
child.  The  information  comes  from  parents,  physicians  and 
the  Institution  records,  including  the  school  department  and 
the  department  of  research.  The  latter  are  incomplete  on  the 
physical  and  the  physiological  (bio-chemical)  side  because  we 
have  not  yet  completed  systematic  studies  of  these  cases.  That 
must  wait  for  a  later  report. 

Each  chart  and  description  is  accompanied  by  a  photograph 
of  the  child  whenever  it  is  proper  to  publish  it. 

Letters  used  around  the  squares  and  circles  are  — 

A  Alcoholic  —  meaning  decidedly  intemperate,  a  drunkard 

B  Blind  I         Insane  Sy     Syphilitic 

C  Criminalistic    M       Migrainous     Sx     Sexually  immoral 

D  Deaf  Neu.  Neurotic  T      Tuberculous 

E  Epileptic  Par.    Paralytic         W    Wanderer,  tramp 

G  Goitre 

A  horizontal  (or  oblique)  line  connects  persons  who  are  mated. 
Unless  otherwise  indicated,  they  are  supposed  to  have  been 
legally  married. 

Symbols  dependent  from  the  same  horizontal  Hne  show 
brothers  and  sisters.  In  the  fraternity  of  our  child  these  are 
arranged  in  order  of  birth,  the  first  born  at  the  left.  Case  1 2 
is  the  only  exception. 

A  vertical  Hne  connecting  this  horizontal  Hne  with  an  indi- 
vidual or  with  a  Hne  connecting  two  individuals,  indicates  the 
parent  or  parents  of  the  fraternity. 

When  the  parents  were  not  married  the  fact  is  indicated  either 
by  the  expression  "unmarried"  or  by  the  word  "illegitimate" 
placed  near  the  symbol  for  the  child.  A  dotted  Hne  connecting 
two  symbols  may  indicate  incest. 

Large  Roman  Numerals  on  the  Charts  of  the  Hereditary 
group  indicate  the  matings  that  have  been  used  in  the  study 
of  the  MendeHan  law. 


50  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

HEREDITARY  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 
CASES   I  — 164 

CHART   1 


O 


6b 


d-T-(5i^^Wp©^^5b 


i^S^aWS^ 


k 

CERTRUBE  E. 

CASE   I.     GERTRUDE  E.     16  years  old.     Mentality  11.     Has  been 
here  7  years.    American  born,  nationality  of  parents  unknown. 

Gertrude  is  a  nice  looking  girl  and  when  admitted  at  the  age 
of  nine  was  thought  to  be  merely  backward.  She  could  take 
care  of  herself,  read  in  the  Primer,  count  to  fifty,  knew  ordi- 
nary combinations  in  numbers  and  was  fond  of  music. 

For  two  or  three  years  we  clung  to  the  behef  that  she  was 
merely  a  backward  child.  She  made  good  progress  in  school 
work,  learned  to  read  quite  well,  could  reproduce  a  story  and 
memorize  rapidly;  did  excellently  in  entertainments.  Grad- 
ually, however,  in  spite  of  all  efforts  she  fell  behind  and  soon 
reached  her  Kmit  in  reading,  writing,  and  number  work,  and 
apparently  her  mental  development  ceased  at  eleven.  She 
shows  relatively  high  intelligence,  however,  in  almost  everything 
she  does;  does  excellent  work  about  the  cottage,  sews  very 
well,  is  quite  a  musician,  helps  in  the  kindergarten,  and  is  gen- 
erally a  useful,  pleasing  girl.  She  is  nearly  always  good  tempered, 
although  very  changeable,  inclined  to  be  moody,  is  sometimes 
very  sober;  is  obedient,  truthful,  active  and  affectionate.  She 
dances  and  sings  and  loves  to  appear  in  entertainment  work. 
Her  defect  is  hard  to  describe.     Everyone  who  knows  her  feels 


HEREDITARY    GROUP.      MENTALITY    ii  51 

that  she  ought  to  develop  and  yet  it  is  perfectly  clear  that  she 
will  not ;  she  is  incapable  of  generalizing  or  having  an  ambition 
or  developing  any  womanly  qualities  such  as  become  her  age. 

A  glance  at  her  family  chart  will  show  that  it  is  pretty  clear 
that  there  must  be  an  hereditary  taint.  An  older  sister  and  an 
older  brother  are  both  defective ;  all  the  rest  are  dead  except  one 
other  brother  who  is  undetermined. 

The  father  and  mother  were  both  alcoholic  and  may  possibly 
have  been  mentally  defective  also.  Unfortunately  we  have  as 
yet  been  unable  to  secure  data  on  the  parents  or  on  very  many 
others  in  the  family.  It  is  hoped  that  we  may  yet  be  able  to  get 
hold  of  some  facts  that  will  help  explain  this  remarkably  inter- 
esting case. 

Gertrude  is  a  good  example  of  that  type  of  girl  who,  loose  in 
in  the  world,  makes  so  much  trouble.  Her  beauty  and  attrac- 
tiveness and  relatively  high  grade  would  enable  her  to  pass 
almost  anywhere  as  a  normal  child  and  yet  she  is  entirely  in- 
capable of  controlKng  herself  and  would  be  led  astray  most 
easily.     It  is  fortunate  for  society  that  she  is  cared  for  as  she  is. 

CASE  2.  Florence  and  Byron  T.  (Brother  and  Sister.)  Florence  T. 
23  years  old.  Mentality  8.  Has  been  here  10  years.  Was  born  in  New 
Jersey,  parentage  uncertain,  but  probably  American. 

Byron  T.    19  years  old.     Mentality  11.     Has  been  here  13  years. 

When  admitted  Florence  was  spoken  of  as  always  smiling  and 
silly  ;  mouth  open  ;  went  upstairs  sideways.  Her  memory  and 
attention  were  fair.  She  was  sulky,  could  do  errands  and  house 
work,  was  excitable,  gluttonous,  affectionate,  fond  of  children 
and  play,  indolent  and  vulgar ;  did  not  know  any  school  work 
and  has  not  learned  much  since. 

At  the  present  time,  she  does  fancy  work,  house  and  laundry 
work.  She  is  a  good  worker,  always  cheerful  and  happy.  In 
the  Binet  Tests  she  can  count  thirteen  pennies,  describe  the  pic- 
tures, sees  the  lack  in  the  unfinished  pictures,  can  copy  the 


52 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


square  but  not  the  diamond ;  recognizes  colors  and  names  them ; 
can  compare  butterfly  and  fly,  etc.,  cannot  count  backwards; 
repeats  the  days  of  the  week  and  the  months  of  the  year.  She 
cannot  count  the  stamps  nor  repeat  five  figures.  She  is  good 
natured  and  a  willing  worker.  If  not  in  the  care  of  the  Institu- 
tion she  would  probably  be  the  wife  of  some  low  grade  worker 
and  the  mother  of  many  children,  probably  defective  like  herself. 
The  brother,  Byron  T.,  is  19  years  old  and  tests  11 ;  has  been 
here  13  years;  when  admitted,  was  excitable  and  nervous,  cried 

CHART  2 

I  I         2NO  HUSBAND 


1ST  HUSBAND 


(N> 


GSeS]  001 


d.  <L  <i-         DWARF 


fLORENCE  BYRON  T- 


and  laughed  without  cause,  was  gluttonous,  destroyed  clotl 
and  furniture,  was  dangerous  with  fire,  not  truthful,  nor  tr     ; 
worthy ;   active,  obstinate,  sly  and  passionate.     When  put  i 
school  here,  he  made  very  good  progress  for  a  defective 
learned  to  read  fairly  well,  to  write  some,  was  less  lazy,  took  n 
interest  in  things.     He  reached  his  limit,  however,  in  set   ol 
work,  even  in  basketry;   did  something  in  music,  but  was  m  "-^ 
especially  a  farm  boy,  since  he  was  strong  and  able  to  do  a  g. 
deal  of  work  under  direction.     As  will  be  noted,  he  is  three  ye  . 
higher  grade  than  his  sister.     He  can  remember  six  figures  ]:n. 
not  seven.     He  can  repeat  60  words  in  three  minutes,  can  mike 


^ASE  2,  BYRON  T..  AGE  19.  MENTALLY  11. 

.ASE  2,  FLORENCE  T.,  AGE  23.      MENTALLY  8 
^ASE  8,  NANNIE  D.,  AGE  30.  MENTALLY  10 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY    ii  53 

rhymes,  but  cannot  put  together  the  dissected  sentences.  He  is 
one  of  our  highest  grade  boys  and  is  entirely  lacking  in  stigmata 
of  degeneration ;  indeed,  is  a  handsome  lad. 

A  glance  at  the  chart  shows  what  a  very  bad  family  this 
is.  The  parents  were  feeble-minded,  syphilitic,  and  sexually 
immoral.  The  father,  who  was  also  alcoholic,  died  in  an  alms- 
house. This  is  one  of  the  worst  histories,  socially  and  morally, 
that  we  have.  It  is  said  that  the  miscarriages  and  infant 
deaths  in  the  family  were  syphilitic  cases  and  were  due 
directly  to  the  contamination.  An  older  brother  is  sexually 
immoral  and  criminalistic.  Three  others  are  dead.  The  father's 
two  sisters  and  brother  are  feeble-minded.  The  mother  had  a 
brother  and  a  half-sister  who  were  feeble-minded.  The  father's 
mother  was  feeble-minded  and  was  twice  married.  By  her  first 
husband  she  had  four  children,  all  normal,  with  the  possible 
exception  of  one,  but  her  defect  was  transmitted  to  her  grand- 
children, two  out  of  five  being  feeble-minded.  The  father  of 
our  boy  and  girl  was  one  of  the  four  children  resulting  from  the 
second  marriage  of  this  woman  with  a  man  who  was  alcoholic 
and  immoral.  Our  children's  mother's  parents  were  both  feeble- 
minded. 

The  paternal  grandfather  was  the  child  of  a  woman  who  was 
twice  married,  he  being  the  son  of  the  second  marriage,  of  which 
aothing  else  is  known.  By  her  first  husband,  who  was  considered 
normal,  there  were  five  children,  two  of  whom  were  feeble- 
minded. One  of  these  married  a  supposedly  normal  woman  and 
two  children  out  of  five  were  feeble-minded.  It  is  evident  that- 
the  defect  here  runs  back  at  least  into  the  fifth  generation.,. 

This  is  a  remarkable  family.  They  have  been  largely  objects 
of  charity,  although  they  inherited  some  property  which  they 
quickly  squandered.  Neither  of  the  children  would  be  recognized 
as  defective  if  out  in  the  world,  and  both  would  undoubtedly  go 
the  way  of  their  ancestors  in  cr^me  and  immorality  as  well  as 
in  the  matter  of  marrying  and  reproducing  defective  children. 


54 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

CHART  3 


2NO  WIFE  l^  \^  i. 


li(N)lN]        0] 


CASE  3.    KAYH.    17  years  old. 
American  born,  of  American  parents. 


Mentality  11.    Has  been  here  3  years. 
Had  measles  at  the  age  of  4  years. 


Kay's  case  is  an  interesting  one.  When  he  came  here  three 
years  ago  he  came  as  an  incorrigible  boy,  had  been  in  public 
school  seven  years  and  attained  only  the  third  grade ;  he  could 
add,  subtract,  multiply  and  divide,  but  was  generally  disobedient 
and  incorrigible.  By  the  Binet  tests  he  was  eleven  years  men- 
tally, which  showed  him  at  that  time  only  three  years  backward, 
and  we  could  not  therefore  pronounce  him  certainly  feeble- 
minded. This,  however,  seemed  to  be  a  suitable  place  for 
him,  for  the  time  at  least,  and  so  he  was  put  to  work.  He  has 
always  been  a  difficult  boy  to  manage ;  he  is  not  satisfied  with 
his  work,  is  reported  as  being  lazy. 

During  these  years  he  has  made  no  mental  progress  whatever, 
so  that  to-day  at  the  age  of  seventeen  he  still  tests  eleven  despite 
all  efforts  to  train  and  educate  him. 

This  is  a  fair  sample  of  this  type  of  boy  who  at  thirteen  or  four- 
teen we  are  not  willing  to  consider  feeble-minded,  but  who  at 
seventeen  is  distinctly  so. 

If  we  had  had  the  family  history  at  that  time,  we  should  prob- 
ably have  been  more  suspicious  but  not  certain  even  then.     Altho 


HEREDITARY    GROUP.      MENTALITY    ii 


55 


there  is  enough  feeble-mindedness  in  the  family,  it  is  not  so  placed 
that  we  could  have  predicted  that  this  particular  child  would 
surely  be  defective.  However,  when  we  know  that  he  is  defective 
we  can  find  plenty  of  reasons  for  it.  Here  we  find  the  usual  low 
grade  family  with  its  sexual  immorality,  criminality  and  alcohol- 
ism.    Several  have  been  or  are  in  institutions  at  state  expense. 


CHART  4 


O 


T?^^S5-rt55oi3-T-0 
0  oO 


5^ 


D 


Q 


/  a  CHILDREN  4  i  a  1 

X  ALL  QUEER 


k 

CASE  4.  KONRAD  H.  21  years  old.  Mentality  11.  Has  been  here  1 1 
years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  spasms.  Had  measles 
at  3  years.  Has  had  diphtheria  and  marasmus.  Assigned  ^  cause  "  the  alco- 
holism of  the  mother." 

Konrad  was  ten  years  old  when  he  came  ;  knew  part  of  the  al- 
phabet, could  count  a  little  beyond  ten.  He  has  improved  greatly 
and  is  now  one  of  the  nicest  boys  in  the  school.  He  is  polite  and 
manly,  nice-looking  and  is  liked  by  everyone  ;  he  is  one  of  those 
boys  that  tempt  the  teacher  to  believe  that  much  can  be  accom- 
plished, and  yet,  as  usual,  he  falls  just  short  of  that  which  will  make 
him  efficient  in  the  use  of  the  arts  of  reading,  writing  and  num- 

^  "  Assigned  cause  "  always  means  the  cause  given  by  parents  or  sometimes  by 
imily  physician.  It  is  to  be  noted  in  contrast  to  our  cause ;  e.g.  in  all  the 
in  the  present  group  the  real  cause  is  evidently  the  hereditary  taint. 


56  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

ber  work.  We  include  some  of  his  work  to  show  just  what  may 
be  expected,  at  best,  of  some  of  these  high-grade  morons.  It  will 
be  noticed  that  these  letters  are  very  well  worded,  but  they  are  a 
little  short  in  capitalization  and  occasionally  in  speUing,  altho, 
as  a  rule,  Konrad  spells  very  well.  The  letter  to  Josie  is  a  Httle 
clandestine  correspondence  with  one  of  the  girls  in  the  School; 
it  shows  the  presence  of  that  interest  in  the  opposite  sex,  which 
is  very  rarely  found  among  Institution  children,  or  at  least  is 
very  rarely  strong  enough  to  express  itself  in  this  clandestine 
way  which  would  be  so  common  among  normal  children  of  the 
same  age.  The  handwriting  in  these  letters  is  typically  childish, 
large,  coarse  and  angular. ,    His  speUing  has  been  retained. 


Vineland  N  J 

Nov  ist  1910 
Dear  Mother  and  father 

I  thought  I  would  write  you  a  letter 
to  let  you  know  I  am  well  and  hope  you  are  the 
same.     How  is  Jessie  getting  along  hope  she  is 
well     Will  you  please  be  so  kind  as  to  send  me 
a  new  necktie  and  two  collors  I  will  thank  you 
very  much,     now  as  I  told  you  I  would  to  learn 
to  play  a  \'iolin.     Now  if  you  will  please  tell 
Professor  Johnstone  about  it  I  guess  he  will 
be  glad  for  me  to  do  so. 
I  guess  this  is  all  for  this  time.     I  hoping  to 
hear  from  you  soon 
I  remain  as  ever 

your  loving  son 

Konrad  H. 

2. 

Vineland  N  J 

April  3,  191 1. 
Dear  Mother  and  Father 

I  thought  I  would  write  you  a  few 
lines  to  let  you  know  I  am  well  and  trust  you 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY    ii  57 

are  the  same     Please  let  me  know  why  you  are 

not  writing  to  me  for  I  am  anxious  to  hear  from 

you. 

Had  brother  got  any  work  yet  and  if  he  has  I 

geuss  you  are  glad     The  weather  is  pretty  nice 

here  and  I  supose  it  is  ther  same. 

I  geuss  this  is  all  I  can  say  now  so  I  will 

close  now  with  love 

from  your  loving  son 

Konrad  H. 


3. 

my  dear  Josie 

I  write  you  a  letter  to  tell  you  not 
to  pay  any  attetion  to  what  flora  C.  says  because 
it  is  none  of  her  Business     She  Just  is  Jules 
because  I  like  you. 

Well  how  are  you  I  hope  you  are  well  I  recived 
your  mesage  you  sent  to  me  today  and  was  glad 
to  hear  from  you  I  thoght  you  looked  very  nice 
inded  today. 

Josie  please  to  not  let  any  one  see  this  for  if 
you  do  it  will  cause  you  and  me  lots  of  truble. 
and  when  you  read  it  read  it  on  a  sly  please. 

A sends  you  his  love  also, 

I  am  sending  you  a  very  pretty  Valentine. 
With  lots  of  love  to  you  from  your  friend 

Konrad  H. 
Answer  soon. 

Konrad  is  somewhat  undersized  but  is  neat  in  his  appearance, 
a  free  talker  and  would  pass  for  normal  almost  anywhere.  Any 
defect  that  would  show  would  be  attributed  to  lack  of  school- 
ing rather  than  to  mental  defect. 

Eleven  years  of  experience  with  him  shows  that  he  is  as  truly 
defective  as  any  of  the  rest.  This  is  surely  a  hereditary  case 
although  the  defect  does  not  show  in  the  immediate  family. 
The   mother    was    alcoholic ;    the    father    is    probably    normal 


58  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

although  there  is  a  shght  doubt.  The  paternal  grandfather 
is  probably  feeble-minded,  at  least  was  insane,  as  were  his 
father  and  mother.  The  grandfather  also  had  an  insane  brother 
with  feeble-minded  children  and  grandchildren. 

CASE  5.  GUSSIE  G.  About  18  years  old.  Mentality  11.  Has  been 
here  II  years.  American  born.  Father  German.  Mother  Irish.  The  child 
had  measles,  whooping-cough  and  scarlet  fever. 

This  is  an  interesting  case  in  that  Chapter  of  feeble-minded- 
ness  which  is  not  yet  written  —  ''The  Relation  of  Feeble- 
mindedness to  Insanity."  We  can  give  something  of  this 
boy's  early  history  from  his  own  work,  for  he  has  written  a 
brief  autobiography  — 

'*!  was  born  in  1894  in  a  boat  house  I  lived  with 
my  mother,  my  Father  ran  away  when  I  was  3I  years 
old.     then  my  mother  and  I  left  together.     I  was 

3 1  years  old  when  we  left .     My  birth  place 

which  is  a  half  of  a  mile  from then  my 

mother  and  I  traveled  we  went  lots  of  different 
places  when  I  was  near  seven  years  old  we  went  to 
the  poor  house 

My  mother  worked  in  a  laundry  there.     I  was  there 
nearly  a  year,     then  I  lived  in  Metuchen  for  several 
weeks,     then  I  came  here  when  I  was  8  years  old. 
and  my  mother  went  to  New  York  City  now  she  is  work- 
ing and  getting  along  good.     I  am  going  to  school 
in  the  afternoon  and  working  at  the  Taylors  trade 
in  the  morning  I  started  to  learn  the  trade  at  near 
fourteen." 

The  boy  was  sent  here  from  the  Almshouse  because  it  was  recog- 
nized that  he  belonged  here  rather  than  there.  At  that  time,  at 
the  age  of  between  seven  and  eight,  it  is  recorded  that  he  could 
help  himself,  could  read  and  count,  knew  color  and  form,  was 
fond  of  music,  had  a  fair  memory,  could  do  housework,  was 
easily  taught,  habits  good.     He  was  immediately  placed  in  the 


HEREDITARY    GROUP.      MENTALITY    ii  59 

kindergarten  class  where  he  did  very  well ;  sang  with  the  chil- 
dren, learned  to  count  to  fifty-nine  and  to  write  a  few  sentences. 
He  made  very  good  progress  in  school  for  the  next  four  or  five 
years.  By  the  time  he  was  twelve  years  old  he  could  do  the  four 
ordinary  operations  in  arithmetic,  knew  money,  understood 
time,  and  long  measure ;  could  make  a  basket  completely.  He 
was  neat  and  particular  about  his  dress  and  always  an  attractive 
looking    boy.     He   was   very  quiet   and 

CHART  5 

well  behaved;   had  good  table  manners,  _c  Sx 


was  easily  managed.  D 1 — ^ 

When  he  was  about  thirteen  or  fourteen 
he  began  to  deteriorate ;  it  would  appear 
that  we  have  to  do  with  a  case  of  adoles-  H 

cent  insanity.     At  that  time  it  was  noted  Jjj^^ 

that  he  was  not  doing  as  good  work  in 

music  as  he  did  the  previous  year,  did  not  take  as  much 
interest  in  his  work  —  had  silly  spells  and  laughed  at  nothing ; 
became  slow  and  fussy,  not  as  full  of  life  as  formerly.  These 
first  symptoms  were  gradually  accentuated  until  in  1910  they 
became  noticeable  in  many  Hues,  altho  still  not  sufficient  to 
be  recognized  as  insanity  by  any  but  the  experts,  if  by  them. 
He  developed  a  great  ambition  to  learn,  and  asked  for  a  set  of 
books,  wanted  a  reader,  history,  arithmetic,  and  a  number  of 
other  school  books  that  he  might  study  by  himself.  He  went 
to  school  in  the  forenoons  and  worked  in  the  tailor  shop  in 
the  afternoons;  he  called  tailoring  his  trade.  He  also  devel- 
oped at  this  time  a  great  notion  of  going  out  and  earning  his  own 
living;  developed  bad  sexual  habits  also  and  seemed  to  have  a 
great  deal  of  morbid  thought  on  this  subject;  had  a  strong 
habit  of  hoarding  things  and  would  take  anything  that  he  could 
find  that  he  wanted.  At  this  time  also  he  developed  a  habit 
of  making  various  notes  and  memoranda  about  all  sorts  of 
things.  The  character  of  these  jottings  will  be  gathered  from 
the  following  samples.     His  spelling  has  been  preserved. 


6o  -  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

Winter 
Good  winter  clothing 

Have  put  away 

I  pair  of  patented  leathers  shoes. 
I  bundle  of  nice  wide  shoe  strings 
I  pair  of  things  for  patented  leathers 

1  pair  of  soft  gatoes 

2  pair  of  colored  socks  2  black  pair 

1  pair  of  fine  gartors 

2  swits  of  winter  underwear 

2  good  swits  I  navy  blue  i  nice  black 

2  pair  of  suspenders 

2  nice  white  soft  bussom  shirts 

I  box  of  linen  collars 

half  dozen  neckties 

4  pair  of  cofs 

1  pair  of  kid  gloves 

2  felts  Hats  black  one  blue 
I  box  of  handkerchiefs 

I  coat  Sapper 
I  over  coat 

What  I  will  have  for  Summer 

I  pair  of  tan  shoes 

1  pair  of  white  shoes 
camphor  balls  for  the  swits 

2  pair  of  shoe  strings 

2  colored  socks  2  black  socks 

1  pair  of  gartors 

2  good  nited  Swits  of  summer  under  wear 
2  best  Swits  i  brown  i  Hght  Swit 

2  silk  shirts 

1  pair  suspenders 

2  pair  of  white  pants  to  change 
I  box  of  collars 

half  doz.  silk  neckties 
I  pair  of  kid  gloves 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY    ii  6 1 

I  white  hat 

I  pananmar  straw  hat 

4  pair  of  cofs 

Bible  &  prayer  Bood. 

Treasures  to  these. 

Couple  gold  stick  pins 

two  sets  of  gold  collar  buttons 

two  sets  of  gold  collar  buttons 

gold  ring 

gold  watch  and  chain. 

money  book 

shoe  horn 

shoe  hook 

Bible 

umbrella 

comb  and  brush  silver 

if  I  join  any  society  I  will 

there  colors 

paten  Leather  Pohsh  and  rags 

finger  nail  clippers 

Httle  big  looking  glass 

pocket  book 

Rubber  heals 

pen  knife 

bages. 

Things  that  I  will  use  very  seldim. 

Brace 
rain  coat 
articts 

House  slippers 
Bathing  Swit 
Cardigan  jacket 

Diifferent  Medicnes  and  fixings  up. 

Suspensory 
good  sweet  soap 
Jack  Rajor 


6  2  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

Shaving  brush 

shaving  cup 

shaving  soap 

talcum  powder 

Bay  rum 

sweet  powder  to  keep  ties  and  things  smell  nice. 

Bottle  of  cloon 

cold  cream 

tooth  powder 

tooth  brush 

bottle  of  smelHng  salts 

Some  Medicnes  of  other  kinds 

alumn  good  for  feet 
feet  powder 

All  of  the  things  that  happen  to  me 
put  down  in  book 

Easter  Sunday  April  ii,  1909. 
My  watch  got  stolden 
I  put  it  in  my  coat  in  the 
linen  closet  and  I  have 
not  got  it.     (End.)     Some  of 
the  boys  must  of  stold  it, 

Mon.  12 

Not  much  said 

about  it  today 

some  asked  me  if  I  got  it 

yet  &  said  no. 

,  Tues.  13 

Mrs.  Nash 
said  last  that  they 
would  hunt  for  it  today 
and  see  if  they 
could  find  it.     (End.) 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY    ii  63 

April.  21. 

My  watch  returned 
today  they  searched 
and  found  my  watch  in 
John  Graves  satchel 
he  stold  it.     I  had  a  scrap 
with  Charles  Corson  (End.) 

Thur.  22 

Gave  us  some 

of  our  things 

and  kept  the  clothing 

today.     (End.) 

Oct.  31/08 

We  had  a  fight  up  in  the 
band  room,     and  this 
is  the  first  with  Andrew 
Tones  for  over  three  years. 
End. 

January  28,  09. 

I  had  another  fight  with 
Andrew  Jones  this 
is  the  first  one  this  year  so  far 
Tailor  Shop  (End.) 

Mar.  8.  09. 

Monday  I  had  to  fights 
nearly  one  was  with  Donald 
Harris  and  John  Heintz 
before  breakfast  in  the  Barn. 

Repairing  on  my  Body 

Get  my  teeth  fixed  and  done 
cleaned  by  a  dentist    O.K. 


64  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

Get  my  body  exammaned 
by  a  doctor  and  told. 

And  have  my  feet  attendett 
to  better  with  a  doctor  and 
my  head. 

Kept  at  Schooling  and  trade 

And  dont  forget  to  have  a 
speciaUst  Doctor  tend  to  my 
privates. 

Remember  on  My  Body 

In  Heighty  5  feet  4I  inches  tall 

I  weight  138  pounds 

size  shoe  7J  to  8 

Socks  size  10 

Drawers  32  undershirt  34 

Swit  size  35.     Comftorable  36 

round  neck  14I  in.  collar 

On  the  blower  first  time 

4.200  Mar.  16,  1909/Second 

time  4.600. 

Out  side  shirt  14^  Cap  io.|. 

Example 

3  X248  +1242  +2464-  1245  = 

2 
248 
X  3 

744 
+  1242 

1986 
+  2464 

4450 
-  1245 


3205     (Answer) 


HEREDITARY    GROUP.      MENTALITY    ii  65 

(Keep)  I  had  three  years  and  a  half 
expearence  in  the  Taylor  trade  in  EHzabeth  for 
I  can  do  most  anything  pretty  good  in  the 
Taylor  work.     But  cutting  out  and  pressing  and 
putting  linen  in  a  coat  and  pants. 

(Find  out  what  nationaliaty) 

Mr.  M.  had  tried  to  teach  him  tennis  —  this  is  his  account 
of  the  game. 

Playing  Tenist. 

they  are 

four 

people 

can 

play  if 

Mr.  M. 

was  play  on 

Freddie  one  side 

Charles  K 

H.  Newton  on  the 

other  side  and  if 

Charles  K.  was  searving  and 

knocked  to  balls 

over  the  line  that 

means  the  Mr. 

M.'s  side  got  15 

to  their  love,  and 

when  they  hallow 

out  fifth  thirty  that 

means  our  side  got 

thirty  to  their  15. 

50  makes 

one  game 

and  besides  when 

he  serves  a 

good  one  to  you 

and  you  dont 

hit  it  then  theirs 


66  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

1 5  for  him  you 

can  play  a  game 

with  only  to  or  3  people  the  are 

two  big  lines  on 

each  side  when 

you  are  playing 

with  four  people  if  the 

ball  gows  out  on 

the  grass  on  any 

side  then  thats 

1 5  more  for  him 

and  if  you  are  playing  with  only 

two  or  three  men  and 

its  different  if 

the  ball  goes  out  on  the  inside 

long  line  on  any  side  then  its  15 

for  the  other  side  whoes 

playing  against 

you  they  are  a  few 

little  words  a  do 

(end)  (Tenist) 

Remember 

I  got  two  teeth  filled  on  the 
upper  row  with  gold  filling 
on  Thursday  April  28,  1910. 

And  I  got  two  teeth  which  were 
filled  with  silver  exchanged 
and  filled  with  gold 
that  are  on  the  bottom, 
on  May  23,  1910. 

I  had  the  silver  in  the  two 
bottom  teeth  since  Feb.  6,  1907 
until  that  day  in  May  it 
has  been  in  3  years  3 
months  and  17  days. 

(End) 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY    ii  67 

Remberincs  of  The 
Songs  and  Duets 

Sacred  Soloes 
means  any  thing 
concerning  about 
God  and  also  in 
Church 

2 
Sacred  Duetts 
means  just  the 
same. 

3 

Secular  Soloes 
means  anything 
that  concerning 
the  world  and  the 
people  in  it. 

4 

Secular  Duetts 
means  just  the  same. 

(He  seems  to  be  planning  to  run  away, 
which  he  did  later) 

Remember  to  New  York 

Take  a  electric  train  from  Vineland  to  Camden 
that  lands  in  the  new  part  of  the  depoe  from 
there  you  go  in  to  the  steam  tunnel.     You 
take  a  steam  train  to  burHngton,  N  J.     From 
there  you  take  a  train  to  Jersey  City  then  23  bt.^ 
feary  then  you  get  to  New  York.     (End)     This  is  a 
better  way  to  New  York  than  the  other.     You  take 
a  electric  train  from  Vineland  to  Camden,     then 
you  land  in  the  new  part  of  the  depoe  and  you  take 
the  market  street  feary  to  Philadelphia.     You  take 
a  car  which  is  called  63th  and  marked  broad  street 
depoe  hes  between  15th  and  Market  then  ask  tor 
train  to  New  York. 


68  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

Remember  to  Hackensack 

You  ask  for  a  ticket  at  Vineland  depoe 
to  Hackensack.     Then  from  Vineland 
take  a  train  to  Camden,  N  J.     Change  and 
take  a  train  to  BurHngton     Change  at 
Burhngton,  take  a  train  to  Newark, 
then  take  a  trolley  marked  Hackensack 
NJ.  then  a  car  for  257  Main  Street. 
(End) 

Extra  thing. 

I  set  of  School  books 

comphshion  book 

writing  pads 

pencil  box 

pencils 

essers 

writing  pen  and  ink 

pen  whipper 

fountain  pen  filler 

fountain  pen 

box  of  letter  paper  and  envelopes 

envelopes 

keep  letters  from  my  mother 

and  friends 

pencil  sharpner 

dictionary 

(Book  Henry  Wood  Natural  History) 

College  song  book 

postal  card  albumn 

Story  book  of  other  kinds 

picture  of  Mr. 

water  wings 

ice  skates 

tennis  Racket 

sissors 

drinking  glass 

china  cups  and  saucers 

and  dishes  all  kinds 


HEREDITARY    GROUP.      MENTALITY    ii  69 

silver  spoons 
furniture  Home 
trunk  cocanutes 
Phonograph  records 

(End) 

Remember  (Good  Friend) 

I  am  giving  a  good  friend  $2.75^ 
to  help  him  out  so  he  will  send 
me  after  he  gets  a  good  start 
$5.00  or  more  on  a  sly  then  I 
will  make  haste  next  annual 
meeting  night  or  during  the  day 
surely.     He  will  have  it  all  fixed 
and  arranged  for  me.     Ill  meet  him 
in  Hackensack. 

Vineland,  N.Y. 
July  20th,  1 9 10. 
Dear  Friend 

I  thougt  I  would  write  you  a  letter  to 
let  you  know  that  I  am  in  the  best  of  health  and 
hoping  you  are  the  same. 

I  am  still  at  my  studies  now  just  as  you  would  see 
me  if  you  were  where  I  am.     The  tailorist  is  away 

and  she  will  be  back  in  Sept. so  when  my  boss 

comes  back  from  her  vacation  she  is  going  to  put 
me  at  cutting  out  and  I  will  learn  most  of  the 
other  Httle  things  in  my  trade.     I  hope  you  are 
having  good  success  and  good  luck. 
I  dont  want  you  to  forget  what  you  promised  me  be- 
fore you  went  away  and  if  you  do  not  get  time  or 
much  chance  to  send  it  to  me  you  know  leave  it  go 
until  next  year.     When  we  meet  to  gether  then  you 
can  give  me  what  you  owe  me. 

I  expect  to  be  up  to  see  you  next  annual  Meet- 
ing Night  surely.     So  I  will  be  travehng  that 
night.     And  I  am  sure  that  we  will  have  a  good 
time.     And  I  hope  you  will  have  everything 
arrenged  and  fixed  for  me  when  I  arrive. 


70  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

I  am  keeping  your  Electricial  book  for  you  and  it 

is  in  good  condition. 

A  few  weeks  ago  I  wrote  a  very  strict  and  important 
letter  to  my  Mother  which  I  told  you  that  I  would 
write  and  I  have  written  to  her  and  got  the  answer 
so  my  mother  wrote  and  told  me  to  be  contended  and 
stay  here  for  another  year,  and  she  says  another 
year  will  not  be  long  and  it  will  go  swiftly  bye  and 
when  she  comes  out  next  May  she  says  that  she  will 
take  me  right  out.     And  if  she  dont  take  me  out  I 
will  be  up  to  see  you  surely.     Now  they  are  not 
talking  or  saying  anything  about  you  everything  is 
silent.     Max  wanted  to  go  home  on  the  fifteenth  of 
July,     but  his  mother  wrote  and  told  him  in  the 
letter  that  she  wrote  to  him  on  his  birthday  that 
they  are  having  a  new  floor  put  in  the  house  in  one 
of  the  rooms,     which  the  owner  of  the  house  is  hav- 
ing done  his  self  and  he  is  going  home  surely  on 
the  2oth  of  July  of  this  Wednesday. 
Two  new  candidates  who  are  high  up  as  you  know  ran 
away  a  short  time  ago  they  are  M.  Brown  and  Joe  C 
they  have  been  away  from  the  old  hole.   They  have  not 
showed  up  yet.     Professor  Brown  has  been  gone  near 
over  a  couple  weeks,  I  dont  think  they  will  get 
them  do  you. 

Well  this  is  all  I  can  think  of  to  say  to  you, 
and  I  porbably  will  not  write  again.     But  please 
do  not  forget  me  will  you.     I  am  thinking  of  you 
every  now  and  then  hoping  that  you  are  getting  along 
good. 

From  your  loving  true 
Respectifully  Gussie. 

Some  of  his  writings  are  much  more  rambling.  Shortly  before 
he  ran  away  it  is  recorded  that  ''his  work  is  beyond  reproach  but 
so  slow  that  it  is  painful."  He  could  read  in  Brooke's  Fifth 
Reader;  seemed  to  be  constantly  thinking  of  mathematical 
problems,  asking  the  result  or  asking  the  meaning  of  some  big 
word.     One  can  hardly  doubt  that  all  this  is  a  premonition  of 


HEREDITARY    GROUP.      MENTALITY    lo  71 

insanity,  even  if  we  may  not  call  it  already  developed.  On  the 
other  hand  it  may  possibly  be  interpreted  as  indicating  a  strong 
desire  to  get  out  in  the  world  and  work  for  himself,  all  of  which, 
uncontrolled  by  any  good  judgment,  is  the  working  of  a  feeble- 
minded individual  of  rather  high  grade. 

Unfortunately  we  have  been  able  to  determine  almost  nothing 
of  his  family  history.  We  did  succeed  in  finding  his  mother, 
who  is  feeble-minded  and  sexually  immoral.  She  seems  to  have 
about  the  same  mentality  as  her  son,  as  is  somewhat  indicated 
from  one  of  her  letters  to  him,  which  follows :  — 

New  York  City 

76 Avenue, 

My  dear  son  Gussie 

You  are  better  make  up  your  to  re- 
main where  you  are  for  another  year.     And  try 
and  be  contented.     As  I  would  have  no  busness 
of  out  now  it  is  terrible  warm  in  New  York  the 
heath  is  just  killing  Gussie  the  buiding  where 
I  am  working  is  going  to  be  pulled  down  so  I  will 
be  out  of  work  in  a  few  week.     So  I  cant  have  no 
home  so  be  a  good  boy  now  and  try  and  be  contented 
for  another  year  an  other  year  will  not  be  long 
slipping  so  the  next  time  I  go  out  there  I  will 
take  you  right  out  I  remain  your  fond  mother 

Nora  G. 

The  father  has  deserted  the  family  and  nothing  is  known  of  him 
except  that  he  is  criminalistic. 

CASE  6.  NANA  T.  30  years  old.  Mentality  10.  She  was  born  in 
Roumania,  came  to  America  at  the  age  of  1 2  and  has  been  here  1 7  years. 

Upon  admission  at  the  age  of  13,  she  did  not  understand  a  com- 
mand, did  not  recognize  color  or  form,  had  no  school  knowledge ; 
was  affectionate,  not  fond  of  play,  not  truthful  nor  trustworthy ; 
was  indolent,  obstinate,  and  destructive.  She  was  at  once  placed 
in  our  school  department  and  after  eight  months  she  recited  a 


72  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

memory  verse  in  English ;  knew  red,  yellow,  orange,  purple, 
brown,  black  and  white.  Three  years  later,  she  had  learned 
her  two  and  three  tables ;  could  count  by  twos  to  a  hundred  and 
back ;  could  add  small  numbers ;  could  not  write  a  letter  with- 
out copy.     This  seems  to  be  about  her  limit. 

As  a  child,  she  was  considered  a  dwarf.     This,  however,  was 

due  to  her  short  legs,  as  will  be  seen  from  her  anthropometric 

measurements.     In  standing  height  she  is  as  tall  as  something 

less  than  lo  %  of  normal  people  of  her  age.     In  sitting  height, 

CHART  6  however,  she   is   as  tall   as  70  % ;    the 

_U  same  in  weight.     Her  grip  is  excellent 

in  both  hands.      Her  lung  capacity  is 

6.  down  again  to  10  %. 

A  n  n  r\  r^        In  manual  work,  she  has  taken  train- 
MARR.Ec;**^'* T.  ,3;^s'olo      ^^S  nicely;   can  sew  well,  clean,  scrub, 

1N6THCRADE     j^gj^(^^  (J^g|-  ^j^(^  ^Q^Q  (>g^j.g  Qf  children, 

in  fact,  can  do  general  housework,  under  direction,  very 
satisfactorily. 

To-day  she  is  pleasant  and  agreeable,  one  of  the  best 
Institution  helpers,  is  happy,  contented  and  useful.  Perhaps 
no  better  illustration  of  the  troublesome  girl  in  society  can 
be  found  than  Nana.  She  is  so  high  grade  and  able  to 
present  such  a  good  appearance  that  very  few  people  would 
be  willing  to  consider  her  defective.  Yet  of  her  defect 
there  is  no  question.  Those  who  know  her  in  the  Institu- 
tion have  learned  it  by  experience  and  the  same  thing  is 
shown  by  psychological  examination.  She  is,  for  instance, 
unable  to  put  three  words  into  a  sentence ;  she  cannot  think 
of  sixty  words  in  three  minutes  —  her  limit  is  forty-three ;  she 
cannot  put  dissected  sentences  together.  These  are  all  eleven 
year  old  tests.  She  cannot  read  well  enough  to  remember  six  facts 
out  of  the  selection  read.  She  has,  however,  a  certain  shrewd- 
ness, and  a  certain  good  judgment  in  regard  to  simple  matters, 
and  these  would  deceive  those  who  are  unfamiHar  with  defectives. 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY    lo  73 

The  following  quotations  from  a  couple  of  letters  will  show 
her  ability. 

To    HER    MOTHER 

^'I  heard  some  sad  news  about  you"  (the  father  told 
her  the  mother  is  feeble-minded)  "  and  I  do  pity 
you  for  I  know  that  you  have  a  very  hard  life 
where  you  are  .  .  .  this  would  be  a  good  home 
for  you  to  live  and  I  think  you  would  be  happy 
here  too  you  would  be  better  off." 

Letter  to  Santa  Claus 

Vineland,  N.  J. 
Novem.  12  191 1 
Sunday 
''Dear  Santa  Claus. 

I  would  like  very  much  if  you  will  kindly  bring  me  a 
real  nice  Pair  of  shoes  for  best  this  is  the  size  of 
them,  the  number  550  15745.  and  I  also  would  like  to 
have  three  Pairs  of  nice  fine  stockings  I  need  my 
shoes  very  badly.     I  hope  you  don't  think  I  asked  for 
too  much.     I  am  so  glad  you  are  coming  around  again, 
good  luck  to  you.     I  will  close  bye  thanking  you  kindly 
for  your  kindness  each  year  and  hope  you  will  never  die 
out.     Good  bye  from  your  loving  friend. 

Nana 

P.S.     stockings  size  eight  and  a  half,  and  a  nice  fine  pair 

of  shoes." 

The  first  is  from  a  letter  to  her  mother  and  shows  that  bit  of 
judgment  and  good  sense  which  is  gratifying.  The  second 
letter  is  to  Santa  Claus  and  shows  her  naivete  very  nicely. 

Without  the  protection  of  the  Institution,  Nana  would  be 
the  victim  of  anybody  who  came  along,  and  would  live  the  same 
miserable,  unhappy  Hfe  that  her  mother  has  Hved  and  also  would 
probably  be  doing  as  her  mother  has  done,  helping  to  populate 
the  world  with  defectives  Hke  herself.  As  will  be  seen  from 
the  chart,   Nana  has  two  younger  brothers,  both  defectives; 


74 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


an  older  sister  is  married  but  cannot  be  found,  hence  her  men- 
tality is  unknown  to  us. 

Two  younger  sisters,  twins,  are  eking  out  a  miserable  exist- 
ence with  the  father.  They  are  going  to  school  and  are  probably 
of  the  same  high  grade  as  Nana,  possibly  even  a  Httle  better; 
their  mentality  cannot  be  accurately  determined  and  what  will 
be  their  history  remains  to  be  seen. 

The  father  and  mother  are  clearly  feeble-minded;  they  have 
separated.  The  father  is  counted  a  very  dangerous  man.  He 
has  made  several  attempts  to  regain  possession  of  the  girl,  but 
she  has  no  desire  to  return  to  a  home  where  there  is  insufhcient 
food  and  clothing,  and  where  the  father  refuses  to  allow  a  fire, 
even  in  the  dead  of  the  winter. 

It  will  be  noted  that  this  girl  came  to  this  country  when  she 
was  12  years  old  and  was  admitted  to  this  Institution  about  a 
year  later.  Here  seems  to  be  a  case  of  a  father  and  mother  and 
at  least  three  children  all  feeble-minded  having  passed  the  cus- 
toms officers  and  been  admitted,  perhaps  without  question. 
One  at  least  has  been  a  burden  upon  society  for  17  years,  the 
others  are  probably  worse. 


CHART  7 


dVo  £h 


o,h5M¥5 


7  VRS.ffoUC 


®W®®®0i]      ©BHBWil 


ILLEGITIMATE 


CASE  7.    SAM  G.  18  years  old.  Mentality  10.    Has  been  here  11  years. 

At  the  time  of  admission  was  large  and  repulsive  looking,  did 
not  understand  language  well ;  only  fairly  obedient ;  speech 
thick ;  could  not  read  nor  count ;  did  not  recognize  colors ;  sight 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY    lo  75 

poor,  hearing  good;  fond  of  other  children;  not  truthful, 
profane;  was  in  the  kindergarten  at  first;  learned  to  write  and 
count  lo  and  do  simple  combinations  of  numbers,  could  copy  a 
few  words  and  write  his  name  from  memory.  After  he  had  been 
here  four  years,  it  is  recorded  that  ''all  of  his  work  is  extremely 
poor.  He  seems  to  have  the  abiUty,  but  is  too  well  satisfied 
with  himself  to  try ;  does  basketry  and  woodwork,  can  do  some 
simple  arithmetical  processes."  He  never  got  very  far,  however, 
with  his  book  work.     He  can  write  a  fair  letter  as  wiU  be  seen 

from  the  following : 

Vineland,  N.J. 
11-30-12 

Dear  old  Chriss 

I  thought  I  would  write  you  my  Xmas 
letter  telhng  you  that  my  trowls  you  sent  me 
last  Xmas  was  stolen  by  some  Itahans  While  I 
was  eating  dinener  so  I  thought  I  write  and  ask 
you  to  bring  me  i  plastering  trowl  i  brick  trowl 
&  a  pr  auto-gargles  to  keep  the  cement  dust  out 
of  my  eyes  I  shall  take  better  cair  of  them  this 
year  as  I  have  a  box  with  a  lock  and  key  I  shall 
bid  you  good  bye  fore  this  time  yours  sincerely, 
^      °  Sam  G. 

His  handwriting  is  very  poor  and  slovenly,  but  his  spelUng  is 
rather  better  than  usual  for  such  children.  At  present,  he  is 
doing  industrial  work  entirely,  is  quite  a  fair  worker  and  is  gen- 
erally contented.  He  has  quite  a  remarkable  memory,  seldom 
forgetting  a  selection  that  he  has  learned  to  recite. 

He  is  American  born,  but  the  birthplace  of  his  parents  is 
unknown.  He  is  one  of  our  highest  grade  boys,  and  would  be 
considered  by  many  more  silly  than  feeble-mmded. 

Both  parents  are  feeble-minded.  The  father  is  very  high 
grade,  so  much  so  that  for  a  considerable  time  we  were  very 
much  in  doubt  as  to  how  to  classify  him.  His  feeble-mmdedness 
takes  the  form  which  makes  him  noted  as  being     pecuhar. 


76  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

He  is  ignorant,  lives  alone,  but  is  a  good  workman,  sober,  honest 
and  industrious.  He  has,  however,  a  brother  who  is  distinctly 
feeble-minded,  sexually  immoral  and  criminahstic.  There  are 
also  a  normal  brother  and  a  normal  sister,  besides  a  brother  who 
died  at  seven  years,  and  a  sister  who  is  wretchedly  alcoholic  and 
may  be  feeble-minded,  although  this  has  not  been  determined. 

The  mother  of  our  boy  is  also  sexually  immoral  and  has  a 
feeble-minded  sister.  Their  parents  were  both  feeble-minded. 
Our  boy  has  two  feeble-minded  brothers;  two  other  brothers 
and  a  sister  died  in  infancy.  A  half-brother  is  a  low  grade 
defective  and  criminalistic. 

Our  boy  is  of  the  type  that  would  pass  for  bright  and  brutal. 
He  would  get  into  all  kinds  of  trouble  and  commit  any  sort  of 
crime,  but  having  a  certain  shrewdness  would  be  considered 
simply  as  an  ignorant  rowdy,  a  very  dangerous  person  to  have 
in  any  community.  The  probabilities  are  that  he  would  spend 
most  of  his  time  in  jail. 

CASE  8.  NANNIE  D.  30  years  old.  Mentality  10.  Has  been  here 
21  years.  American  born,  American  parentage.  It  is  reported  that  opium 
and  spirits  have  been  used  by  the  whole  family  for  generations.  The  child 
had  whooping  cough  at  the  age  of  12  and  grip  at  15. 

Upon  admission  at  the  age  of  9,  she  knew  the  alphabet,  but 
could  not  read,  write  nor  count.  Although  she  tried  for  a  number 
of  years,  was  never  able  to  get  very  far  in  these  lines.  Indus- 
trially she  did  better,  as  they  usually  do.  Now  sews  very  well  and 
takes  charge  of  a  dormitory,  does  some  good  woodwork.  Is  some- 
what queer,  goes  to  school  when  she  is  able — is  somewhat  sickly. 
She  is  sober,  silent  and  sometimes  stubborn ;  generally  obedient 
and  good  tempered ;  is  truthful,  excitable  and  very  sensitive. 

The  chart  shows  at  a  glance  the  large  amount  of  alcoholism 
throughout  the  different  generations.  ImmoraHty  and  illegiti- 
macy, together  with  the  mental  defect,  show  a  low  grade  family 
throughout.  The  father  and  mother  of  this  girl  were  both  feeble- 
minded and  alcohoHc  and  the  mother  was  immoral. 


HEREDITARY    GROUP.      MENTALITY    lo 

CHART  8 


77 


CRITPLE     FOR  DESCENDANTS  SEE 
SECTION  2 


A  FOR  CRIfPLE     FORDESCEI 

DESCENDANTS  SECTION  2 

SEE  SECTION  2 

I  K  HUSBAND         / 


A  Sx 


x^  I  jA  I   I    I  I    ns~L  y^      A    A  I A 


ILLESITIMATE 


ILLECITIMATC 


CHART  8  SECTION  2 


FOR  SIBS  SEE  SECTION  1 


A 


S 


a 


-r^^^^^ftjO  [5?1 


66^6d6i6ifi&5  dfl 


LOT  OF  CHILDREN 
IN  AN  INSTITUTION 
SOHEWHERE 


Section  II  of  the  chart  shows  the  result  of  the  marriage  of  the 
paternal  grandfather's  sister  with  the  paternal  grandmother's 
brother,  said  sister  being  feeble-minded  and  alcoholic.  At 
least  one  of  their  children  was  feeble-minded  and  two  others 
alcoholic  and  the  descendants  from  these  are  alcohoHc  and 
several  are  inmates  of  pubKc  institutions.  On  the  entire  chart 
we  find  nine  people,  besides  our  girl,  who  were  inmates  of  such 
institutions.  This  is  surely  a  heavy  expense  to  the  community 
which  should  have  been  prevented. 


78 


Dr 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

CHART  9 


O 


(N)(^(N)[t][t][t]Eg 


CASE  9.  WIN  AND  WIL  T.  (twins).  21  years  old.  Mentality  — Win  10, 
Wil  8.     Here  12  years.    American  born.     Nationality  of  parents  unknown. 

These  twins  are  not  strikingly  alike.  They  are  of  normal 
size  and  good  proportion  but  Win  is  the  better  looking  of  the 
two ;  is  cheerful,  while  Wil  is  often  sullen  and  morose.  As 
stated,  Win  is  two  years  higher  mentally  than  Wil,  the  difference 
being  shown  throughout  their  Institution  history.  Win  is  a  boy 
that  would  pass  for  normal  with  all  but  experts,  and  indeed  will 
undoubtedly  earn  his  own  Uving  if  he  does  not  get  into  tempta- 
tion. In  the  School  he  steadily  improved  up  to  a  certain  point 
and  is  quite  good  in  many  lines.  His  attainments  in  reading 
and  writing  are  probably  indicated  by  the  following  extracts. 
The  first  is  a  spelling  lesson  —  the  writing  is  poor  but  legible ; 
it  will  be  noted  that  the  words,  some  of  them  rather  difficult, 
are  spelled  correctly  with  three  exceptions.  Second  are  some 
extracts  from  a  letter  written  nearly  a  year  later.  The  spelling 
is  not  so  good  as  in  his  formal  spelHng  lesson.  The  penmanship 
is  better.  The  matter  is  childish  and  his  form  of  expression  is 
just  about  that  of  a  child  of  his  mentahty :  — 

conveying  Asthma  catarrah  camphor  quinine 

sheleton  military  cyclone  cream  ipecac 

magnesia  congealed  merchandise  whiskey  cadet 

Christmas  Santa  Claus  snow  bolls  tornado  croup 


CASE    9,  WIL    T.,  AGE   21.  MENTALLY    8. 

CASE    10,    ISAAC    Q..    AGE    16.  MENTALLY    10. 

CASE    10,    PRUDENCE    Q.,   AGE   17.     MENTALLY   3. 


HEREDITARY    GROUP.     MENTALITY    lo 


79 


Vineland,  N  J. 
July  6,  1908. 
Professor  Johnstone 
Monday  eve 
Dear  sir 

"I  have  been  noticing  for  the  pass  year 
and  some  months  that  a  very  direct  attention  has  been 
paying  to  me,  that  is  people  sneaking  around  and  watch- 
ing me  when  they  though  that  I  did  not  know  it,  and  I 
have  herd  some  funny  tails  said  about  me  which  I  have 
not  liked  but  I  did  not  pay  much  attention  to  it,  but 
for  the  pass  5  or  6  months  those  tails  have  switch  of 
from  small  funny  tails  to  large  dirty  slurs,  and  I  have 
expected  — ^" 

''Of  corse  I  cant  stop  here  to  tell  you  all  of 
my  thoughts  of  this  truble  that  has  been  going  on  for 
years  for  it  will  take  to  long  for  me  to  write  it,  but 
if  you  dont  think  I  am  — " 

Win  also  has  some  capacity  for  drawing  as  is  seen  by  the  accom- 
panying sketch.  He  can 
weave  a  very  nice  basket 
after  his  own  design,  both 
in  form  and  color.  He 
could  also  do  quite  a  httle 
independent  woodwork  and 
make  some  very  nice 
articles. 

While  Wil  is  inferior  to 
his  brother  he  is  by  no 
means  a  low  grade  defec- 
tive. Upon  admission  he 
was  found  to  have  imper- 
fect speech  —  his  voice  was 
somewhat  thick ;  but  he 
could  help  himself,  had 
good    memory,    could    do 


8o  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

errands,  was  obstinate —  as  he  is  still  inclined  to  be.  Like  his 
brother,  Wil  is  musical  and  plays  cymbals  in  the  first  band,  the 
bass  drum  in  the  second ;  hkes  the  band.  He  writes  a  fairly 
good  letter  with  httle  help.  Wil  can  read  by  spelling  out  the 
words  rather  slowly  and  can  sometimes  make  out  the  entire 
sentence.  He  writes  a  rather  childish  hand  but  perfectly  legible 
and  fairly  well  put  together,  as  the  following  illustration  will 

indicate. 

Vineland,  N  J  T  S 
Nov,  14  1911 
My  dear  Santa  Claus 

Please  give  me  these  few  things  such  as  one 
pair  of  corduroyed  pants  blue  cap  size  6f  white  coat 
sweater. 

This  is  all  I  want  for  Xmas  this  time 
I  will  close  now  by  wishing  you  a  Merry  Xmas 
and  a  Happy  New  Year. 

From  your  loving  friend, 
Wil  T. 

He  is  really  capable  of  doing  a  great  many  kinds  of  work  and 
of  doing  them  very  well.  It  is  his  very  peculiar  temperament  or 
disposition  that  prevents  him  from  being  a  valuable  Institution 
helper.  He  is  sober,  inclined  to  be  morose,  stubborn,  backward, 
obstinate,  restless,  excitable,  sensitive,  and  very  quick  tempered. 
When  things  do  not  go  to  suit  him  he  falls  into  a  violent  temper 
and  uses  strong  language  and  may  be  destructive.  He  is  very 
noisy  and  childish  in  his  conversation,  full  of  curiosity,  quite 
mischievous  at  times,  and  plays  with  toys  hke  a  small  child. 
Outside  of  the  Institution  he  would  be  practically  helpless  be- 
cause he  would  not  be  understood  and  people  would  not  tolerate 
him.  He  would  get  into  endless  trouble  through  his  tend- 
ency to  become  violently  angry.  He  has  no  control,  and  makes 
no  attempt  to  control  himself  on  these  occasions.  There  is 
nothing  especially  pecuHar  about  his  Binet  test;  he  cannot 
remember  five  figures  but  can  arrange  the  weights,  which  is  a 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY    lo  8i 

higher  test.  He  never  knows  the  date  but  can  name  the  months 
in  order.  His  definitions  are  no  better  than  by  use ;  has  learned 
to  count  stamps  since  his  first  test. 

Turning  now  to  the  family  history  we  see  again  that  there  is 
abundant  reason  for  these  defective  children.  The  mother  was 
feeble-minded,  belonging  to  a  feeble-minded  family.  She  was 
a  sexual  pervert  of  the  lowest  type.  The  father  of  Win  and  Wil 
was  a  normal  man,  belonging  to  a  thoroughly  respectable  and 
high  grade  family,  but  he  himself  was  a  degenerate.  Circum- 
stances prevented  his  being  carefully  brought  up  and  he  ac- 
quired bad  habits  and  went  from  bad  to  worse  until  he  became 
a  sexually  immoral,  alcoholic  and  thoroughly  bad,  man.  Appar- 
ently the  respectable  traditions  of  his  family  have  led  him  to 
prefer  to  live  in  wedlock  rather  than  otherwise,  and  he  has  accord- 
ingly married  four  different  women,  but  this  has  not  prevented 
his  living  with  those  to  whom  he  was  not  married.  His  first 
wife  was  a  normal  woman  and  is  reported  to  have  had  two  normal 
children.  On  the  other  hand  he  is  believed  by  many  to  be  the 
father  of  one  of  the  children  that  appears  on  Chart  ii8. 

The  sister  of  the  mother  of  Win  and  Wil  married  a  feeble- 
minded man  and  had  a  family  of  feeble-minded  children  which 
appears  in  chart  21. 

CASE  10.  ISAAC  AND  PRUDENCE  Q.  Brother  and  Sister.  Ameri- 
can born  of  American  parents.  Isaac  is  16  years  old.  Mentality  10.  Had 
measles,  spasms  —  at  the  age  of  two,  scarlet  fever,  whooping  cough  at 
the  age  of  seven.  Prudence  is  17  years  old.  Mentality  3.  Had  spasms 
at  two.     Isaac  has  been  here  seven  years.     Prudence  eleven. 

A  remarkably  interesting  thing  in  connection  with  these 
two  children  is  the  very  great  difference  in  their  intelligence. 
Prudence  is  a  low  grade  imbecile.  When  admitted  at  the 
age  of  six  she  could  go  up  and  down  stairs  rather  poorly, 
could  not  help  herself,  did  not  know  color  or  form,  was  excitable, 
very  nervous,  laughed  without  cause.     After  five  years'  training 

G 


82 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


she  could  string  beads  by  form  and  by  color;  could  not  name 
color,  could  sew  on  a  button  without  help.  Two  years  later  it 
is  recorded  she  could  weave  a  mat  and  thread  her  own  needle. 
Her  attendant  reports  that  there  has  been  a  marked  improve- 
ment in  her  since  she  came  to  womanhood.  She  has  been  very 
helpful  around  the  cottage  with  the  younger  children ;  works 
in  the  clothes  room,  can  sew  on  buttons  and  be  generally  quite 
helpful ;   knows  her  brother  and  is  very  fond  of  him  or  perhaps 


CHART  10 


6i> 


a- 


6  fiBv<5^c 


6SSi3 


<f¥Sl  n^  (5MM5®6, 


k  k 


ISAAC  II  prudence  a 


ILLEGITIMATE 


(N)@[N] 


admires  his  superior  intelligence.     She  gets  quite  excited  when 
he  comes  near. 

Isaac,  on  the  other  hand,  is  a  high  grade  moron,  a  fine  look- 
ing boy ;  has  made  great  improvement  since  coming  here. 
On  admission  at  the  age  of  nine  he  is  reported  to  have  had 
a  large  head,  open  mouth,  unsteady  gaze ;  was  heedless,  ac- 
tive, obstinate ;  memory  and  attention  poor.  He  had  been 
in  kindergarten  a  year  and  had  learned  to  count  and  tell  color. 
In  the  seven  years  he  has  learned  to  do  about  what  the  high 
grade  defectives  usually  do.  He  can  write  a  very  fair  letter  as 
the  following  to  Santa  Claus  shows :  — 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY    lo  83 

Vineland,  NJ. 
Nov.  13,  1911. 
My  dear  Kris  Kingle 

I  wish  to  have  a  pair  of  rabbits 
with  long  ears  I  will  be  glad  to  have  them  and 
a  pair  of  kid  gloves  and  a  box  of  chocolates 

I  wish  to  have  these  things  that  ask  for 
if  you  plase  get  these. 
I  wish  you 

A  Merry 

Christmas 
from 

Isaac  Q. 

The  penmanship  of  this  letter  is  very  fair,  much  better  than  any 
that  we  have  yet  quoted.  The  letters  are  well  formed  and  the 
whole  has  quite  the  appearance  of  a  normal  boy's  letter.  He 
can  do  quite  extensive  combinations  in  the  four  fundamental 
rules  of  Arithmetic  and  some  simple  problems.  He  can  read 
fairly  well  though  it  is  doubtful  if  sufficiently  well  to  get  satis- 
faction from  reading  by  himself.  Industrially  he  has  done  very 
well;  does  good  woodwork;  can  make  nice  baskets  and  will 
ultimately  be  a  valuable  Institution  worker.  He  is  musical 
also,  and  plays  cornet  in  the  second  band. 

One  notes  especially  in  his  case  what  can  be  seen  in  all  the 
high  grade  cases,  the  point  at  which  they  begin  to  fail  in  their  y 
Enghsh  work  and  improve  in  the  industrial.  For  example,  here 
are  two  entries,  one  when  Isaac  was  eleven  years  old  and  the  next 
when  he  was  fourteen.  At  eleven  it  says  —  *'has  improved 
steadily  in  Enghsh  and  number  work ;  does  very  good  work  in 
wood  carving ;  plays  first  cornet  in  second  band."  At  the  age 
of  fourteen  the  record  reads  —  "in  wood  carving  does  good  work, 
in  basketry  also ;  Enghsh,  does  not  try  real  hard ;  nature  class, 
does  not  try  his  best ;  physical  culture  —  is  very  troublesome  at 
tunes."  The  interpretation  of  which  is,  that  he  has  reached  his 
limit  in  the  number  work  and  nature  study,  consequently  takes 


84 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


no  more  interest  and  does  not  try,  while  in  the  industrial  work 
he  is  beginning  to  achieve  something  and  work  more  faithfully 
than  ever.  This  is  a  lesson  which  the  pedagogues  would  do  well 
to  heed. 

His  skill  with  the  pencil  is  shown  by  the  following  drawing 
which  he  made  in  response  to  the  request  to  draw  something. 


He  said  the  first  was  Santa  Claus,  the  others  are  cats.  He 
learns  very  quickly  and  as  a  rule  does  not  need  close  supervision. 
He  is  not  fond  of  his  sister  and  pays  very  little  attention  to  her. 
Perhaps  the  following  quotation  from  the  report  of  the  band 
master  shows  his  condition  now  as  well  as  anything. 

"Good  progress  in  music  and  decided  change 
for  the  better  in  conduct.     Does  not  let  his 
temper  get  the  upper  hand  now  so  frequently  and 
is  more  respectful.     Tries  occasionally,  but 
not  always,  to  do  his  best.     Might  take  more 
interest  in  his  practice,  but  on  the  whole 
deserves  credit  for  his  quiet  good  example  at 
second  band  practice." 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.      MENTALITY    lO  85 

A  glance  at  the  family  chart  is  enough  to  account  for  the  condi- 
tion of  these  children.  There  is  another  branch  of  the  family 
where  there  were  many  that  died  young,  but  as  we  were  unable  to 
determine  anything  of  the  mentahty,  we  have  not  reproduced  it. 

The  chart  here  shown  is  another  instance  of  a  feeble-minded 
woman  with  a  husband  who  is  alcoholic  and  the  offspring  either 
feeble-minded  or  miscarriages.  The  exact  number  of  mis- 
carriages in  this  case  is  not  known,  but  it  is  reported  that  there 
were  several. 

In  the  case  of  these  two  children,  Prudence  is  not  dangerous. 
She  is  so  low  grade  that  there  is  hardly  any  Kkelihood  of  her  ever 
marrying,  although  she  might  be  victimized  by  some  evilly  dis- 
posed man. 

Isaac,  however,  is  exceedingly  dangerous.  He  is  a  potential 
criminal  or  bad  man,  or  under  the  best  conditions  would  at 
least  marry  and  probably  become  the  father  of  defectives  like 

himself. 

The  following  interesting  bit  of  reasoning  comes  from  Isaac. 
He  says  —  ''People  say  one  must  be  able  to  read  and  write  in 

order  to  get  along  in  the  world.     Now  there  is  Miss .     She 

cannot  read  or  write,  yet  she  gets  along  all  right." 

CASE  II.  MAMIE  C.  24  years  old.  Mentality  10.  Has  been  here 
17  years.     American  born ;  nationality  of  parents  unknown. 

Mamie  is  a  splendid  iUustration  of  the  high  grade  moron  type ; 
she  comes  the  nearest  to  proving  the  environment  theory  of  any 
pupil  in  the  school.  In  fact,  she  proves  the  opposite  and  probably 
is  a  good  illustration  of  what  would  always  be  found  if  such  cases 
were  carefully  scrutinized.  Mamie  came  to  Vineland  when  she 
was  a  Httle  under  seven  years  of  age ;  she  was  small  with  a  large 
head,  Hsped,  knew  the  alphabet,  could  count  to  four,  knew  color ; 
memory  was  said  to  be  poor,  attention  poor.  She  had  beenm 
school  six  months  and  made  some  improvement ;  after  admis- 
sion she  was  at  once  placed  in  the  kindergarten  and  in  course 


86 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


of  a  year  had  made  marked  improvement.  Her  attention  and 
memory  are  now  reported  as  good.  She  takes  an  active  part 
in  games  and  speaks  pieces.  A  year  later  it  is  recorded  that 
she  has  made  much  progress,  reads  from  the  chart,  can  do  sim- 
ple arithmetic ;  two  years  more,  —  reads  and  spells  four-letter 
words,  counts  from  twenty  to  one,  speaks  more  distinctly; 
shows  a  desire  to  learn ;  counts  to  one  hundred  by  twos ;  works 


CHART  11 


D 


O 


D 


<5b 


MUTE  MUTE.  IB      MUTE 

MUTE 


1 — I — I 


6iV<?Sl^  i&~JST^T5i 


^9 

^        MUTE. 


6 


nicely,  is  quiet  and  obedient ;  has  commenced  First  Reader,  takes 
part  in  dialogue ;  can  hem  and  back  stitch.  The  next  year  she 
has  become  a  helper  in  the  kindergarten,  doing  well  in  English 
and  is  learning  music.  At  the  age  of  fourteen  she  writes  well, 
does  short  division,  knows  her  multiplication  tables,  is  a  little 
weak  in  spelling,  plays  well  on  the  tenor  horn,  is  very  helpful  in 
the  kindergarten,  is  patient  and  always  kind.  Not  only  has 
she  improved  along  all  these  line?  but  she  has  conquered  a  some- 
what unpleasant  disposition.     To-day  she  is  a  quiet,  attractive 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY    lO  87 

pleasant  girl,  very  efficient,  needs  very  little  supervision,  a  very 
valuable  helper  in  the  kindergarten,  leading  the  children  in  many 
ways  and  reHeving  the  teacher  of  much  work ;  besides  that  she 
takes  all  the  care  of  the  rooms  of  the  assistant  Superintendent 
and  his  wife.  Can  do  any  kind  of  housework  and  does  good 
woodwork ;  has  only  a  slight  defect  in  speech  at  present ;  she 
is  truthful  and  trustworthy,  proud  of  her  good  record  and  has 
rather  a  strong  ambition  to  be  like  the  teacher  whom  she  admires. 
The  following  letter  written  by  herself  to  one  of  her  former 
attendants  will  illustrate  what  she  is  doing  and  how  she  does  it, 
as  well  as  her  ability  in  letter-writing. 

Vineland,  N.J. 
March  26,  191 1. 
My  dear  Mrs.  S 

I  guess  you  think  I  don't  know 
such  a  lady  as  Mrs.  S  any  more,  but  al- 
though I  don't  write  to  you  I  often  think  of  you, 
and  about  the  time  when  you  were  here  as  one  of  our 
teachers. 

I  will  never  forget  you  because  you  help  to  make 
makes  me  the  girl  I  am  to-day. 

For  a  long  while  I  did  not  write  any  letters  at 
all  because  I  had  such  a  lot  of  trouble  with  my  head 
and  eyes,  but  I  had  my  eyes  tested  and  have  glasses 
and  now  I  feel  like  a  new  girl,  and  feel  more  letter 
writing. 

I  still  go  to  School.     In  the  morning  I  help  in  the 
kindergarten  from  nine  to  eleven  oclock  from  eleven 
to  twelve  I  go  to  reed  and  raphia  class  I  have  made 
four  different  kind  a  sewing  bags  out  of  raphia  and 
lined  them  with  different  colored  silks. 

In  the  afternoon  I  go  to  the  sewing  class, 
engHsh,  and  wood  carving  class. 

I  am  making  a  embroidered  mit  in  the  sewing 
class  and  in  the  wood  carving  class  I  am  making 
a  silver  chest,  and  I  still  take  piano  lessions, 
and  I  am  still  in  the  band 


88  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

Miss  M  —  our  reed  and  raphia  teacher 
give  piano  lessions.     She  gives  me  a  lession  ever 
Tuesday  morning. 

We  have  a  fine  band  director  his  name  is  Mr. 
K  —  He  had  a  band  concert  not  long  ago.     The 
first  band  played  five  selections  the  second  band  two 
pieces  and  we  have  now  a  girls  band.     It  started 
last  summer  and  they  played  a  piece  and  a  lot  of 
solos. 

I  play  the  trombone  in  the  girls  band  and  the 
baritone  in  the  first  band. 

Last  Friday  night  the  Baptist  minister  gave 
us  a  entertainment, 

It  was  slight  hand,  and  it  was  fine.  We  had 
store  day  here  on  St.  Patrick  day.  My  reports 
were  all  good. 

I  got  thirty  cents  in  my  envelope,  but  I  put 
in  towards  my  gold  frames  glasses  I  am  saving  a 
dollar  and  Mrs.  N  is  going  to  give  the  rest  to 
me  which  is  very  nice. 

Spring  is  here,  and  it  seems  real  nice  to  see 
the  pretty  flowers  and  to  hear  and  see  the  buds. 

With  lots  of  love  from  Maude,  and  Emma,  and 
myself, 

Write  when  you  can  I  am  your  true  friend 

Mamie  C. 

Her  penmanship  is  very  neat  and,  while  a  httle  angular  and  child- 
ish, is  nevertheless  perhaps  the  best  that  we  have  among  our 
children.  She  can  play  the  piano  and  plays  a  horn  excellently 
in  the  band;  the  band-master  commends  her  ''for  steady, 
patient,  progressive  work  and  applying  her  knowledge;  trust- 
worthy and  willing  to  help  the  other  girls ;  would  be  exemplary 
in  everything  if  she  were  a  little  more  careful  of  instruments  at 
times";  and  another  teacher  says  ''always  willing  to  help  with 
the  little  girls,  very  good  and  kind  with  them." 

Now  all  of  this  shows  that  Mamie  has  made  great  improvement ; 
she  has  had  the  best  of  care  and  training  and  it  cannot  be  said 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY    lo  89 

that  she  would  have  made  even  more  if  she  had  not  been  in  an 
Institution  —  that  she  has  been  institutionaHzed ;  on  the  con- 
trary she  has  been  given  great  freedom  and  responsibility,  she 
has  had  every  opportunity  and  encouragement  to  improve  and 
there  has  been  developed  in  her  a  strong  ambition  to  be  like  one 
of  her  teachers.  Her  progress  has  been  great  and  has  undoubt- 
edly been  about  all  that  she  could  possibly  make,  and  yet  she  is 
mentally  defective  ;  not  at  all  able  to  take  her  place  in  the  world 
and  compete  on  equal  terms  with  others  in  the  struggle  for  exist- 
ence. Environment  has  done  much  for  her  but  it  has  not  made 
her  normal  and  no  environment  could. 

Her  family  chart  shows  the  reason.  The  argument  for  envi- 
ronment is  that  it  has  made  her  a  happy,  useful  and  honest  girl. 
A  different  environment  would  have  made  her  the  opposite, 
perhaps  a  criminal,  perhaps  a  prostitute,  undoubtedly  a  wife, 
and  mother  of  defectives  working  hard  to  maintain  a  miserable 
existence  struggling  against  odds  that  were  too  great  for  her. 

Mamie  is  a  living  and  brilliant  argument  for  the  colonization 
of  all  the  children  of  defective  ancestors.  They  need  permanent 
segregation,  to  the  end  that  that  kind  of  defective  human  stock 
may  cease  to  perpetuate  itself. 

CASE  12.  KARL  I.  23  years  old.  Mentality  10.  Has  been  here  3 
years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  spasms  at  six  months 
and  was  paralyzed ;  measles  at  seven  years,  diphtheria  at  eleven  years, 
m.embranous  croup  at  three  years.  Has  had  typhoid  fever.  Assigned  cause 
"  premature  birth  and  mother's  condition." 

This  is  a  case  of  a  high  grade  boy  who  spent  three  years  here 
and  then  left  to  go  to  work.  He  had  been  highly  trained  indus- 
trially and  being  of  a  relatively  high  mentahty  has  been  able  to 
maintain  himself.  He,  however,  came  back  voluntarily  at  one 
time  and  stayed  a  Httle  while  but  afterward  went  away  again  and 
is  at  present  earning  his  own  hving.  He  has  no  noticeable  stig- 
mata of  degeneration  and  would  pass  as  an  illiterate  workman, 
capable  of  earning  the  lowest  wages.     He  is  of  average  height 


go 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


and  is  well  built  and  strong.  He  was  an  eight  months'  child,  eyes 
are  weak  and  he  has  sore  ears,  the  result  of  a  gathering  in  the  head. 
He  is  said  to  have  had  congestion  of  the  brain  when  a  baby. 

Karl's  mother  is  a  normal  woman  but  clearly  in  bad  physical 
condition.  She  has  had  twelve  miscarriages  said  to  be  due  to 
a  lacerated  uterus.  Of  two  earlier  children,  one  was  an  eight 
months'  baby  that  died  on  the  second  day  and  the  other  died  the 
eighth  week ;   the  third  born  died  at  three  years  and  the  second 

CHART  12 


HUSBAND  I         I 


ano  HUSBAND 
d.62 


D 


-H>ia0^iW 


llillUili^l    ^ 

KARL  L 


"'-  (?) ^ uL  [^HHia 


born  was  feeble-minded  and  alcoholic  and  is  the  father  of  two 
feeble-minded  children.  Of  the  first  born,  the  condition  is  unde- 
termined but  he  had  two  feeble-minded  children,  a  third  is  per- 
haps defective,  four  others  died  in  infancy. 

The  mental  defect  has  clearly  come  through  the  father's  side. 
He  himself  was  a  defective  and  his  mother  was  feeble-minded 
and  sexually  immoral  and  syphilitic.  She  had  a  brother  who  was 
also  defective.  From  another  marriage  this  woman  had  a  great 
grandchild  who  was  feeble-minded  and  epileptic. 

This  is  a  very  instructive  case  since  a  superficial  knowledge  of 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY    lo 


91 


the  family  would  lead  us  to  conclude  that  the  premature  birth  or 
the  condition  of  the  mother  was  the  cause  of  the  defect,  but  a 
deeper  study  shows  without  doubt  that  there  was  hereditary 
feeble-mindedness  in  the  father. 


CHART  13 


'PROBABLY  ALL  DEFECTIVf  • 


-hS5^ 


-"'CUE-    SPEECH  ^'^  "        no,irpc<!i«u«I 

t*         DEFECT  SUIODE 


CASE  13.  MARY  N.  26  years  old.  Mentality  10.  Has  been  here 
19  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  spasms  at  two 
months,  and  whooping-cough. 

Mary  came  at  the  age  of  seven.  At  that  time  it  is  recorded 
that  she  was  like  the  usual  child  of  five  or  six;  could  dress 
herself  with  help,  talked  indistinctly.  It  was  said  that  "sur- 
roundings have  not  been  favorable  as  her  father  and  mother 
were  a  Httle  weak-minded."  She  made  excellent  progress  at 
first  and  must  have  appeared  quite  normal.  It  is  recorded  that 
she  was  at  the  head  of  the  class  in  number  work,  could  read 
twelve  pages  in  the  beginners'  reader,  danced  well,  did  well  in 
EngKsh  work.  This  was  at  the  age  of  eight.  Next  year  she  was 
reading  in  the  Third  Reader,  could  add,  subtract  and  multiply, 
write  a  fair  letter  but  spelled  poorly.  At  the  age  of  eleven,  two 
years  later,  it  is  reported  'Splays  well,  takes  part  in  almost  all  of 


92  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

our  entertainments,  counts  but  does  not  know  numbers,  only 
the  number  names;  reads  poorly  in  the  Second  Reader."  A 
year  later  ''needs  help  in  spelKng,  adds  and  subtracts  well,  absent- 
minded  and  careless  at  times."  The  next  year  ''grows  dis- 
obedient, does  good  house  work  without  giving  trouble."  Next 
year,  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  "works  in  the  kitchen  and  does  very 
well  in  dressmaking."  The  last  record  of  her  in  usual  school 
work  is  —  "can  compose  a  nice  story  in  EngHsh  but  her  spelling 
is  very  poor." 

Mary's  case  is  worthy  of  much  study  since  her  unusually  high 
mentality  of  ten  years  brings  her  up  to  the  division  of  those  girls 
who  are  not  usually  recognized  as  defective,  and  who  because 
of  that  are  a  menace  to  society.  She  is  cheerful,  active  and 
obedient,  very  quiet  and  affectionate,  wilHng  and  tries,  is  truth- 
ful, but  quick-tempered ;  is  a  very  attractive  girl,  well  behaved 
and  lady-like  and  very  capable  in  household  work  but  always 
under  supervision. 

The  following  school  letters  will  help  one  to  appreciate  better 
what  is  Mary's  mental  achievement. 

Vineland  N.J. 
Oct  7,  1910 
My  Dear  Sister 

I  thought  as  I  have  a  few  minets  I  would 
write  you  a  few  Hnes. 

Have  you  received  the  dress  that  I  sent 

you  for  M I  do  not  know  why  you  do  not  let  me 

know  if  you  got  it  or  not.     If  you  would  let  me 
know  I  would  feel  better  satisfide  about  it. 

I  suppose  you  do  not  have  much  time  to 
write. 

I  was  to  wild  wood  for  two  weeks  I  went  in 
bathing  every  day  expeat  Sunday  I  had  a  very  pleas- 
ent  time.     Autum  is  here  and  some  of  the  trees  are 
truning  they  will  soon  all  look  very  pretty.     I 
will  bring  my  letter  to  a  close  write  soon  with 
love  your  sister.     Anser  soon 


CASE   13,  MARY   N..    AGE   26.  MENTALLY   10. 

CASE   11    (centre),    MAMIE   C,   AGE   24.     MENTALLY   10 
CASE   16,    BENNIE   B..    AGE   18.  MENTALLY   9. 


HEREDITARY    GROUP.      MENTALITY    lo  93 

%hr  1  3^  (^11 

MAy^rxXtK  ^jMiiaJ^oul  .^tit  JmL  /rv^AZli 

OiLiAkAX  JiuJtJL  ^JUiI^^^ 
0/r\Ji  ^'^^^-'^^ry  ,yn^^         ClrrvTi/AL 

It  should  be  remembered  that  she  is  twenty-four  years  old  when 
she  writes  the  first  one,  and  a  year  older  when  she  writes  the  one 
that  is  reproduced  in  facsimile,  and  that  for  the  greater  part  of 
sixteen  years  she  has  had  more  or  less  instruction  in  letter  writ- 
ing. Mary  is  a  splendid  illustration  of  that  type  of  girl  that 
is  most  dangerous  in  society.  Pretty  and  attractive  and  with 
just  enough  training  to  enable  her  to  make  a  fair  appearance 
she  deceives  the  very  elect  as  to  her  capacity.  ResponsibiHties 
would  be  placed  upon  her  which  she   could  never  carry.     She 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


olutely  incapable  of  controlKng  her  own  instincts  and 
;es,  and  incapable  of  exercising  any  judgment  in  matters 
re  at  all  complex.  In  Institution  life  she  is  happy  and 
Unprotected  she  would  be  degraded,  degenerate  and 
Dther  of  defectives. 

king  at  her  picture  one  finds  it  hard  to  believe  this,  but 
ce  at  the  family  chart  ought  to  be  sufficient.  There  is 
single  individual  on  the  whole  chart  that  we  could  mark 
1  except  one  man  who  has  been  foolish  enough  to  marry 
his  defective  and  degenerate  family,  and  two  maternal 
L  cousins  of  Mary's  who  are  professional  men.  A  number 
family  have  been  in  Institutions  at  public  expense. 


CHART  14 


2  \  NEUROTIC  i 

3N 
2U 

X  X"""**^   \  I  T  X  I  ^" 


MMSSSS^^ 


TTTT 


h 


I  14.     MALCOLM  W.     22  years  old.     Mentality  10.     Has  been 

years.     American  born,  of  American  parents.     Had  convulsions  at 

)nths,  whooping-cough  at  four  years,  measles  at  seven,  scarlet  fever 

Has  had  pneumonia.     Illness  is  given  as  the  cause  of  the  condition. 

colm  is  a  typical  moron  ;  learned  to  talk  at  the  age  of  five  ; 
ghtly  defective  speech.  He  came  here  when  he  was  nine- 
ears  old  ;  has  learned  to  be  generally  useful  about  the  barn 
e  cottage  ;  works  fairly  well ;  conduct  is  good  ;  has  charge 
barn  when  the  barn  man  is  absent.  At  times  he  is  care- 
He  can  read  and  write  a  little,  but  his  spelling  is  bad ; 
lently  has  not  been  trained  to  do  as  much  as  he  might  have 


HEREDITARY    GROUP.     MENTALITY    lO  95 

done,  and  yet  he  is  quite  as  happy  and  quite  as  useful  as  he  would 
have  been  had  time  been  put  upon  this  phase  of  his  education. 
The  following  short  letter  is  representative  of  Malcolm. 

Vineland,  N.J. 
Aple  29,  1910 
Dear  Mother 

I  hope  you  got  home  save  I  wood  like  to 
have  gorne  with  you. 

We  have  a  new  boy  and  look  to  be  a  nice  won.     I 
wood  like  to  com  hom  on  my  birthday  it  is  not  fare 
of  We  had  som  moveing  picture  on  Wesday  and  thay 
were  pretty. 

With  time  did  you  get  back  home  it  mich  of  been  late  ? 
from  your  Loving  son 
Malcolm 

The  family  history  is  a  most  interesting  one.  Malcolm  is  the 
only  living  child  of  his  parents,  although  there  have  been  nine 
conceptions.  The  rest  resulted  ui  miscarriages  or  stillbirths. 
The  mother  is  a  normal  woman  and  seemingly  of  a  normal 
family ;  the  father  is  also  a  normal  man  but  evidently  a  carrier 
of  defect,  since  his  mother  was  feeble-minded.  He  was  alcohoHc 
and  went  with  a  fast  set,  which  undoubtedly  accounts  for  the 
miscarriages.  To  confirm  our  theory  that  the  father  must  have 
been  a  carrier  of  feeble-mindedness  we  have  only  to  look  at  an 
older  brother  who  is  feeble-minded  and  married  a  feeble-minded 
woman.  They  had  twelve  children  of  whom  two  died  in  infancy 
and  all  the  rest  were  feeble-mmded.  There  is  no  doubt  that 
Malcohn  has  inherited  this  defect  thru  his  paternal  grandmother. 

CASE  15.  DEBORAH  KALLIKAK.  24  years  old.  Mentality  10. 
Has  been  here  16  years.  American  born  of  Amencan  parents.  Had  chicken 
pox  at  II.     Illegitimate;  born  in  almshouse. 

Deborah's  story  and  chart  have  been  published.  See  The 
Kallikak  Family,  Macmillan,  191 2.  They  are  not  reproduced 
here,  but  the  figures  have  been  counted  in  our  tables  of  statistics. 


96 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


CHART  16 


[re"666i^  66^^45^ 


^ 


6^^6b 


CASE  i6.  BENNIE  B.  i8  years  old.  Mentality  g.  Has  been  here 
8  years.     American  born ;  nationality  of  parents  unknown. 

Bennie  has  gone  through  about  the  usual  course  for  children 
of  his  mentaHty ;  in  eight  years  he  has  learned  to  count  a  little, 
and  manipulate  figures,  learned  to  read  a  little,  and^ write  a  simple 
childish  story ;  his  penmanship  is  very  bad,  also  his  figures,  and 
papers  slovenly  looking.  He  learned  to  read  in  about  the 
Second  Reader  and  not  better ;  on  the  industrial  side  he  has 
steadily  improved  and  can  make  nice  baskets  and  do  good  work 
in  the  woodworking  room ;  improved  greatly  in  the  cottage 
work ;  dusts,  sweeps,  makes  beds,  darns  stockings ;  does  good 
work  in  the  pantry. 

''He  is  not  doing  so  well  in  mending  as  a  year  ago."  This 
undoubtedly  means  that  he  is  getting  bigger  and  older  and  has 
lost  his  interest  in  mending ;  perhaps  he  feels  that  it  is  not  a 
boy's  job  and  so  takes  less  interest  and  does  it  less  well.  With 
these  children  it  is  always  a  question  of  instinctive  interest ; 
we  cannot  rely  upon  their  doing  things  to  any  great  extent 
from  any  associated  interest,  consequently  the  efficiency  with 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY    9  97 

which  they  work  in  any  given  line  depends  on  how  much  they 
enjoy  it  and  how  much  they  are  interested  in  it. 

Bennie  is  generally  truthful  and  trustworthy,  he  is  somewhat 
sober  and  even  moody  and  morose  at  times ;  a  Httle  inclined  to 
be  quarrelsome,  but  on  the  whole  is  a  very  good  boy  and  not 
difficult  to  get  along  with. 

Bennie's  family  chart  shows  an  unusually  bad  condition  of 
things,  possibly  because  we  have  been  more  than  usually  fortu- 
nate in  tracing  his  people.  Bennie  is  one  of  seven  children ; 
the  father  and  mother  were  both  feeble-minded  and  belonged  to 
feeble-minded  famihes.  It  will  be  noticed  that  these  parents 
have  defective  brothers  and  sisters  and  the  father  is  in  turn  the 
child  of  two  feeble-minded  parents,  while  the  mother's  mother  is 
also  feeble-minded. 

Of  the  collateral  branches  we  have  been  able  to  determine  very 
Httle,  except  the  number  of  individuals  in  each  family  with  now 
and  then  one  so  defective  that  his  condition  is  easily  remem- 
bered. A  very  marked  feature  illustrated  here  is  the  way  in 
which  defective  groups  get  together  and  marry  among  them- 
selves. 

In  this  family  we  have  twenty  feeble-minded  individuals  and 
probably  a  great  many  more  if  we  knew  the  facts.  In  spite  of 
all  that,  this  boy  had  to  be  dismissed  from  the  Training  School, 
is  now  at  large  and  will  almost  certainly  continue  the  race  of 
defectives  to  which  he  himself  belongs. 

CASE  17.  THOMAS  C.  About  20  years  old.  Mentality  9.  Has  been 
here  10  years.  American  born;  nationality  of  parents  unknown.  The 
assigned  cause  "  sickness  of  the  mother." 

Thomas's  exact  age  is  not  known,  he  was  supposed  to  be  about 
ten  years  old  when  admitted.  He  could  do  housework  and  er- 
rands, had  bad  habits,  could  count  to  a  hundred,  could  add  and 
subtract  a  httle;  knew  color  and  form.  The  first  and  second 
fingers  of  his  hands  and  his  toes  are  webbed ;  he  stutters  a  little. 


98 


FEEBLE-JMINDEDNESS 


He  has  made  considerable  improvement  of  the  usual  kind ;  has 
learned  to  read  in  the  Second  Reader  and  adds  and  subtracts 
a  httle ;  this  is  about  the  hmit  of  his  book  work.  Industrially 
he  has  become  quite  a  worker,  especially  around  the  farm  and 
dairy.  The  dairyman  reports  :  ''He  is  always  wilKng,  always  on 
the  go ;    does  his  work  carefully  and  we  could  not  do  without 

him."     He  is  cheerful, 


CHART  17 


D 


O 


mis- 


r  4.  d.  3ND  HUSE 


3RD  HUSBAND 

ISBANO  1^         I  *■ 


ILLECITIMATC 


good  natured, 
chievous,  rather  quick 
tempered,  inclined  to 
be  thieving,  sometimes 
obstinate  and  quarrel- 
some. On  the  whole, 
however,  he  is  a  very 
good  Institution 
helper. 

We  have  not  been 
able  to  discover  much 
about  his  family,  but  a  few  members  have  been  located  and 
they  are  nearly  all  feeble-minded.  Two  brothers  and  his  mother 
are  epileptic.  He  himself  has  never  shown  any  symptoms  of 
this  additional  defect. 

Later  study  has  given  a  much  fuller  history, 
see  page  39. 


THOMAS  C 

\56b  60b 


For  revised  chart 


CASE  18.  NELLIE  C.  19  years  old.  Mentality  9.  Has  been  here 
12  years.     American  born  of  American  parentage. 

A  high  grade  child  and  apparently  only  a  little  backward 
when  admitted  at  the  age  of  six.  Understood  language  and 
commands,  was  obedient,  could  wash  dishes  and  do  errands,  was 
fond  of  play  and  dolls.  She  improved  steadily.  A  year  and 
a  half  later  had  learned  all  the  first  kindergarten  work,  could 
count  to  39,  add  combinations  to  ten,  could  copy  easy  sentences 
and  was  interested  in  her  work  and  tried  to  do  it  well.     She  soon 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.    MENTALITY  9 


99 


reached  her  limit  in  book  work,  as  she  has  never  been  able  to 
read  better  than  the  Second  or  Third  Reader,  knows  two  or 
three  multipHcation  tables  and  can  add  a  little. 

In  industrial  work  has  steadily  improved  until  she  is  one  of 
the  best  girls  in  the  cottage.  Is  neat,  careful,  and  can  do  well  al- 
most any  kind  of  work.  Is  to-day  a  handsome  young  woman  of 
19  with  the  appearance  of  a  girl  of  15  and  the  mentahty  of  a 
child  of  9.  She  is  cheerful,  active,  but  of  quiet  manner,  obedient, 
affectionate,  wilhng  and  tries,  truthful  and  trustful,  sensitive 
and  good  tempered,  although  sometimes  quick  tempered. 


CHART  18 


6^^533 


o 


00 


Tl      tl       fl 


lOYRS.MALFORTlED 


(n)(n)(n)(n)©(n)(n)[n 


This  girl  is  a  striking  illustration  of  the  type  of  woman  who, 
out  in  the  world,  becomes  quickly  victimized  because  of  her 
quiet,  innocent,  unresisting  manner.  Pretty  and  attractive,  she 
holds  the  attention  of  the  passerby,  is  easily  captured  by  the 
designing  rascal  and  may  even  attract  a  man  of  more  intelH- 
gence. 

Unfortunately,  we  have  not  been  able  to  get  as  full  a 
history  of  her  family  as  would  be  desirable.  She  had  a  younger 
sister  who,  altho  she  died  at  ten,  was  clearly  defective.  The 
father  and  mother  are  both  defective.  In  the  mother's  family, 
however,  there  are  some  normal  sisters  who  have  had  normal 
famines.  There  is  some  deafness  and  considerable  tuberculosis 
on  this  side  of  the  family. 


lOO 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


CHART   19 


D 


O 


Q-tQ 


J  PROBABl 

^■^^        3  2  ^""  I  2     GOITRE 

INF.  * 


WALTER  D. 

b 

CASE  19.  WALTER  D.  17  years  old.  Mentality  9.  Has  been  here 
4  years.  American  born  of  American  parents.  Had  measles  at  the  age 
of  nine.     Has  had  mild  chorea. 

Walter  is  a  typical  moron  and  when  he  came  there  was  con- 
siderable hope  that  he  might  be  merely  backward  but  he  has  not 
progressed  in  mentality  and  has  evidently  reached  his  stopping 
point.  He  had  become  unmanageable  at  home  and,  although  he 
had  been  to  school  several  years,  had  made  very  little  progress. 
Knew  his  ktters  and  could  count  to  a  hundred  and  add  and  sub- 
tract a  little.  Has  learned  to  read  fairly  well  but  his  written 
work  is  poor ;  has  evidently  reached  his  limit  in  this  direction. 
His  manual  work  is  better,  he  learns  basketry  readily.  He  is 
not  truthful;  is  thieving;  is  quick-tempered,  obstinate  and 
mischievous  and  a  mischief  maker.  Has  very  bad  habits.  He 
has,  however,  sufficient  intelligence  to  become  a  good  Institu- 
tion worker  and  will  undoubtedly  settle  down  to  this,  under  good 
training ;  but  without  such  training  he  would  become  the  most 
dangerous  and  vicious  boy  imaginable.  With  all  his  present 
habits  and  tendencies  he  would  get  into  all  the  trouble  and 
immorahty  possible.  This  boy's  Wassermann  test  was  very 
strongly  positive. 

A  glance  at  the  family  chart  shows  an  exceedingly  bad  condi- 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY   9 


lOI 


tion  of  things.  Walter's  four  brothers  are  feeble-minded  like 
himself.  Of  the  father  or  his  family  little  can  be  learned,  except 
that  there  was  alcoholism. 

Walter's  mother  was  insane  and  is  now  in  an  Insane  Hospital. 
A  brother  of  hers  was  feeble-minded  and  had  six  children  all 
feeble-minded.  Walter's  maternal  grandmother  was  also  feeble- 
minded and  the  grandfather  alcohoHc,  as  were  at  least  two  of  their 
children.  Everything  indicates  an  exceedingly  low  grade,  bad 
family  with  the  defect  in  at  least  three  generations. 

CASE  20.  INEZ  H.  28  years  old.  Mentality  9.  Has  been  here  14 
years. 

Was  a  strong  baby;  when  admitted  to  the  School  at  the 
age  of  fourteen  was  small  for  her  age,  could  read  some,  could 
add  and  subtract,  wrote  poorly ;  had  been  to  school  four  years 
with  little  progress. 

„,        .  CHART  20 

bne  is  very  morose, 
rather  stubborn  and 
quarrelsome,  is  ex- 
citable and  quick 
tempered.  Does 
some  sewing  and 
embroidery,  and 
the  usual  dormitory 
work ;  works  in  the 
laundry. 

There  is  no  doubt  about  the  hereditary  character  of  this  case. 
Both  the  mother  and  father  were  defective,  an  aunt  was  epileptic. 
The  mother's  sisters  were  all  called  peculiar;  whether  that 
meant  mental  defect  could  not  be  determined. 


D 


O 


[5OT^ 


ILLEGITIMATE 


CASE  21.  DAVID  H.  19  years  old.  Mentality  9.  Has  been  here 
ten  years. 

When  David  was  admitted  he  could  dress  and  undress  himself ; 
knew  form  but  not  color,  could  read  a  Httle  and  count  to  five ; 


102  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

had  a  large  head ;  mouth  open ;  a  speech  defect.  Under 
training  he  improved  in  every  way;  he  showed  a  remarkable 
memory;  did  very  well  in  the  school  work.  Although  David 
received  a  great  deal  of  attention  and  training  in  speech,  he  was 
never  able  to  overcome  his  defect  and  always  spoke  indistinctly, 
and,  although  he  could  produce  the  elementary  sounds,  he  could 
never  put  them  together.     Every  inducement  was  tried,  such  as 


DB 


CHART  21 


Q-T-O 


FOR  RELATIVES 
SEE  CASE  9 


i5^BWS"5"fehm^S^^Wi5©l^ 


requiring  every  person  in  the  Institution  to  refuse  to  do  any- 
thing for  him  or  grant  his  requests  unless  he  spoke  distinctly ; 
all  was  without  avail.  Of  course  he  could  never  read  orally  to 
any  satisfaction.  He,  however,  learned  to  write,  not  a  very  good 
hand  but  still  quite  legibly  and  quite  accurately.  Punctuation 
and  capitaHzation  were  quite  beyond  him.  The  following  two 
letters  show  this  and  also  the  incoherency  of  his  ideas  at  times. 

Professor  Johnstone 
I  would  Kke  you  to  do  me  a  favor  I  would  like 
to  go  to  the  laundry  Tuesdays  and  Thursday  if  you 
please  to  learn  on  the  shirt  machine  this  is  the  first. 
The  second  thing  I  would  like  to  go  to  Dr.  Goddard  three 
time  a  week. 

if  you  put  me  at  these  three  places  I  will  bee  satis- 
fied and  horse  barn. 

From 

David  H. 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.      MENTALITY    9  103 

Dear  Mother  and  Father 

I  am  writing  you  a 

few  lines  to  let 

you  hear  from  me 

I  hope  that  all  of 

the  folks  are  well 

at  home  as  it  leaves 

me  How  is  father 

coming  on  this  year 

with  his  farm 

Has  Job  been  down 

to  Cedarville  yet 

this  summer 

In  the  next  litter 

thvill  sent  you  some 

pictures  when 

I  fix  them  up  the 

Bridge  ton  high  School  came 

up  to  play  the  New  Jersey 

Training  School 

today  we  all 

enjoyed  the  game 
very  muchr  I  will 
close  now  lam  your 
lowing  son  David  H. 

He  also  made  considerable  progress  in  Arithmetic  as  the  follow- 
ing examples  will  illustrate. 

Example-        April  (19)  1907 

8654  +  3416  -  24  -  36  -^  3  =  what? 
8654 
3416 


120^0 

-  24 

12046 

-  36 

I20I0 
3|t20IO 

403! 


I04  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

Example  — 

2  X  386  +  8346  4-  2580  -T-2  =  what? 

386 
X3 


1158 
+8346 

9504 
+  2580 
2  J121814 
6097 

Example  III 

If  Cattell  Cottage  receives  twenty  quarts 
of  milk  each  day  how  many  quarts  of  milk 
will  they  use  in  one  week  ? 
If  they  use  20  quarts  in  one  day  they  will 
use  7  X  20  qts  in  one  week. 

7  X  20  =  140  quarts 

His  lack  of  intelligence  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  he  could  not 
give  definitions  other  than  by  use,  he  did  not  remember  six  fig- 
ures, could  not  arrange  the  weights  in  order ;  could  repeat  the 
days  of  the  week  and  the  months  of  the  year  ;  knew  the  money ; 
could  put  three  words  in  a  sentence  ;  could  not  see  the  absurdity 
in  the  sentences  given  ;  could  not  define  charity,  justice  or  good- 
ness. His  definition  for  charity  was  —  '^  Can  you  read  out  of  the 
Bible?"  Justice  was  a  girl's  name  and  another  time  he  said 
justice  was  a  pain  in  the  stomach.  Goodness  —  is  being  good. 
Asked  to  give  a  word  that  rhymed  with  day,  said  ''Monday," 
after  a  careful  explanation  of  what  a  rhyme  is,  being  asked  to 
give  a  rhyme  with  mill,  said  ''Milk." 

David  is  another  case  of  that  type  which,  having  been  well 
trained,  would  be  able  to  earn  a  living  under  favorable  circum- 
stances, that  is  to  say,  if  he  got  into  good  company  with  some- 
one who  would  have  some  little  patience  with  his  shortcomings 
and  treat  him,  so  far  as  responsibility  is  concerned,  like  the  ten 


HEREDITARY    GROUP.      MENTALITY   9  105 

year  old  child  which  he  is  mentally.  He  would  pass  almost 
anywhere  as  a  normal  boy.  Even  his  speech  defect  would  work 
to  his  advantage  because  it  would  tend  to  cover  up  his  further 
defects.  People  would  come  to  the  conclusion,  as  so  many  people 
do  in  such  cases,  that  if  it  were  not  for  his  speech  defect  he 
would  be  all  right.  He  is  a  cheerful,  good-natured  boy,  always 
pleasant  and  agreeable,  wilhng  to  do  anything  for  any  one  that 
asks  him  pleasantly.  Yet  under  close  competition  he  would  be 
absolutely  incapable  of  earning  a  living. 

The  family  tree  is  a  part  of  that  of  Case  No.  9,  the  maternal 
grandmother  of  David  is  the  aunt  of  the  twins  in  that  case. 
David's  father  has  been  marked  normal  because  we  could  not, 
according  to  our  present  information,  find  any  reason  for  marking 
him  otherwise,  although  he  is  a  shiftless  farmer  and  it  is  hard 
to  understand  how  any  normal  man  would  endure  such  con- 
ditions as  he  lives  in.  When  we  look  at  his  family  of  children 
we  are  led  again  to  question  the  correctness  of  our  diagnosis, 
for,  were  he  a  normal  man,  we  would  expect  that  in  so  large  a 
family,  at  least  some  of  the  children  would  be  normal.  How- 
ever, we  must  leave  it  as  it  is  until  more  is  known  about  this 
very  difficult  and  obscure  problem  of  the  heredity  of  the  feeble- 
minded. A  forcible  reminder,  that  the  conditions  which  we  are 
portraying  are  persisting,  is  found  in  the  fact  that  since  we 
began  the  study  of  this  family,  the  younger  brother  of  David  has 
married  a  feeble-minded  girl  already  a  prostitute  and  the  daugh- 
ter of  a  prostitute.  Had  we  known  that  this  was  going  to  hap- 
pen we  could  have  done  nothing,  under  the  existing  laws,  to 
prevent  it. 

CASE  22.  MOSES  I.  27  years  old.  Mentality  9.  Has  been  here 
15  years.  American  born  of  American  parents.  Has  right-sided  hemi- 
plegia. 

Moses  is  a  moron  of  rather  high  mentality,  handicapped 
by  physical    defect.      When   admitted    he   was    12   years  old, 


io6 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


could  read  a  little,  and  count,  could  not  add  nor  write,  was  in- 
clined to  be  profane  and  vulgar  in  his  talk.  Made  some  little 
progress  in  reading  and  counting  and  knows  a  little  geography, 
but  none  of  this  is  of  practical  value  to  him.  He  has  some 
little  inventive  abiHty  and  will  accomplish  wonders  with  his 
one  arm,  in  any  direction  where  he  can  utilize  his  talent,  but  for 
routine  work  or  anything  that  is  useful,  he  is  not  of  much  account. 
The  accompanying  picture  is  a  reproduction  of  his  plan  for 
a  merry-go-round;    he  actually  constructed  this  and  the  boys 


CHART  22 


55^ 

d.  3  ''• 

WIALYSIS  ^""° 


ir~r 


5¥©3a©@ 


10^1, 


i  m\k 


used  it  for  some  little  time ;  it  of  course  would  not  long  stand 
the  rough  usage  it  naturally  received.  The  second  picture  is  a 
photograph  of  an  apparatus  which  is  in  actual  use  and  was 
also  constructed  by  Moses.     (See  opposite  page.) 

He  is  very  fond  of  music  and  will  get  hold  of  something  that 
he  can  tinkle  and  play  with  it  by  the  hour.  He  is  very  talkative, 
generally  cheerful,  although  sometimes  quarrelsome.  Both  his 
parents  are  feeble-minded,  the  father  is  also  alcoholic. 

Of  the  father's  family  we  have  been  able  to  determine  very 
little  and  not  much  of  the  mother's  except  that  she  has  a  sister 
also  mentally  defective. 

This  is  a  curious  case  of  consanguinity,  Moses'  parents  being 
double  first  cousins.     Moses'  condition   would  usually  be  at- 


HEREDITARY    GROUP.      MENTALITY   9 


107 


tributed  to  that  fact  but  when  we  see  that  they  are  also 
feeble-minded,  we  discover  that  there  is  no  reason  for  calhng  in 
consanguinity  to  account  for  it.  Moses  and  his  parents  are  all 
public  charges. 


T08 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


The  question  will  naturally  arise ;  which  one  of  these  three 
is  the  cause  of  the  condition  —  the  consanguinity,  the  hemi- 
plegia or  the  heredity?  We  can  only  say  that,  of  the  three, 
heredity  is  the  only  one  that  is  known  to  be  sufficient  cause 
for  the  condition.  Rather  must  we  conclude  that  the  hemiplegia 
has  been  grafted  on  to  a  defective  child  and  while  he  may  be 
pecuHar  because  of  the  hemiplegia  he  would  have  been  feeble- 
minded anyway.  Some  one  will  ask,  if  a  child  has  such  talent 
as  is  indicated  here,  why  can  he  not  be  trained.  Surely  under 
the  right  kind  of  treatment  this  natural  ability  could  have  been 
turned  to  account !  As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  such  is  not  the 
case  and,  I  beHeve,  never  is  the  case  in  this  type  of  child.  Moses 
has  been  trained  and  every  effort  made  to  make  him  useful 
along  this  Kne,  but  Hke  the  idiot  savant  of  Earlswood  he  will  work 
when  he  feels  Hke  it  and  as  he  feels  Hke  it  and  he  cannot  be  trained 
or  induced  to  do  anything  dift'erent.  Such  cases  are  further 
proof  that  a  person  cannot  be  trained  above  his  mental  level. 
It  is  ignorance  of  this  fact  that  leads  to  so  much  waste  of  energy 
in  the  attempt  to  educate  mental  defectives. 


CHART  23 


S'4hr<?3^ 


r  I  I  I  I  I 


'0«i     0     #6 

ll 


THERESA  N. 


dsea  6h 


CASE  23.  THERESA  N.  42  years  old.  Mentality  9.  Has  been  here 
25  years.  American  born  of  English  parents.  Has  had  spasms,  measles 
and  whooping-cough. 

Theresa  is  an  epileptic  and  has  the  usual  uneven,  cranky  dis- 
position characteristic  of  this  disease.     Her  spasms  are  violent 


CASE    17,   THOMAS    C,   AGE   20.      MENTALLY  9. 

CASE   23,    THERESA   N.,    AGE   42.     MENTALLY  9. 
Merry-go-round  built  by  MOSES   I.,  CASE  22. 

CASE   25.,   ISADOR   O.,  AGE   25.         MENTALLY  9. 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY   9 


109 


but  she  seems  conscious  during  them.  They  are  more  apt  to 
occur  in  pubHc  places  than  elsewhere,  and  if  kept  away  from 
"  Assembly  "  for  a  long  time  she  has  fewer  spasms.  She  is  very 
useful  and  helpful  in  the  cottages  and  is  very  motherly  with 
the  httle  children.  She  can  write  a  letter  and  spell  most  of  the 
words  correctly  but  makes  many  ridiculous  mistakes ;  capital- 
izing and  punctuation  are  beyond  her. 

This  is  not  a  high  grade  family,  there  are  a  number  that  are 
decidedly  questionable  as  to  their  mentahty  and  two  others  at 
least  are  distinctly  defective,  being  morons.  Altogether  it 
would  appear  that  this  is  an  hereditary  case. 


CHART   24 


I. 


(§ufil!N 


CASE  24.  BESSIE  N.  25  years  old.  Mentality  9.  Has  been  here 
13  years  American  born  of  German  parents.  Has  had  measles,  whoop- 
ing-cough, and  chicken-pox.  Has  had  spasms  since  she  was  eighteen 
months  old  and  has  always  continued  to  be  epileptic. 

When  admitted  at  the  age  of  twelve  could  do  the  four  funda- 
mental operations  of  arithmetic,  could  read  a  httle,  could  do  an 
errand.  Was  rather  cruel  to  small  children,  obstinate,  and 
noisy.  Had  been  to  school  two  years  and  made  httle  progress. 
To-day  she  is  a  rather  silly  talkative  girl,  can  read  some,  but 
writes  very  poorly;  can  sing.  Works  about  the  house  very 
well,  scrubs  floors,  darns  ;  is  very  slow.     Bessie  is  one  of  a  family 


no 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


of  twelve,  at  least  five  of  whom  are  feeble-minded,  the  others 
we  have  not  been  able  to  determine  with  the  exception  of  one 
that  was  still-bom  and  one  that  died  in  infancy. 

The  mother  is  feeble-minded  and  an  only  child.     The  father 
is  alcoholic ;  mental  condition  unknown. 


CHART  25 


M- 


IV 


o 


O 


SWu~S^1i-^|hS'ShS^)-p>[nj 


T  k 

ISADOR  0. 


CASE  25.  ISADOR  O.  Age  about  25  years.  Mentality  9.  Has  been 
here  10  years. 

This  is  a  typical  case  of  that  great  group  which  is  socially  so 
dangerous.  Of  relatively  high  grade,  a  fine  looking  young  man, 
without  any  noticeable  stigmata  of  degeneration,  he  is  able  to  make 
the  best  appearance  that  his  mentaHty  will  permit.  Very  prob- 
ably able  to  make  his  own  living,  now  that  he  is  trained.  When 
admitted  at  about  the  age  of  12  (his  actual  birthday  is  unknown), 
he  could  read  and  count,  knew  color  and  form,  could  do  errands 
and  housework.  Was  obstinate,  but  easily  managed.  Steadily 
improved  under  training  until  he  was  able  to  do  something 
in  a  good  many  hues,  although  nearly  always  Hmited  in  his 
achievements.  His  greatest  lack  was  that  of  persistent  will- 
power. Was  cheerful,  active,  obedient,  affectionate  and  truth- 
ful. Could  do  excellent  work  in  the  tailor  shop,  was  quite  an 
efficient  assistant  to  the  electrician,  did  some  work  in  the  car- 


HEREDITARY    GROUP.      MENTALITY    9 


III 


penter  shop,  was  an  excellent  milking  boy  and  was  good  at  house- 
work. He  could  write  a  very  fair  story  of  some  experience,  could 
read  well  in  about  the  Fourth  Reader.  Never  got  far  in  arith- 
metic but  in  industrial  lines,  as  indicated,  was  very  good.  Had 
some  little  ability  in  drawing  as  is  shown  by  the  accompanying 
reproduction.  He  even  assisted  the  teachers  in  school,  by  tak- 
ing charge  of  a  little  group  of  children.  He  was  especially  good 
at  this  in  the  school  gardens.     He  could  keep  at  work  a  group 


Original  drawing  by  Isador. 


of  boys  younger  than  himself,  with  remarkable  ability.  Per- 
haps his  greatest  abihty,  as  it  was  his  greatest  interest,  was 
in  music.  When  he  came,  he  was  able  to  play  part  of  the  scale 
on  the  shde  trombone,  but  had  forgotten  the  positions.  He 
learned  the  scale  in  about  two  weeks  and  also  the  bass  part  to 
"America."  He  steadily  improved  in  music  and  came  to  play 
his  part,  first  tenor,  in  the  march  ''Onward,  Christian  Soldiers" 
and  other  pieces  of  about  the  same  difficulty. 


112  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

He  remembered  ten  pictures  out  of  a  card  of  thirteen  pictures 
shown  to  him  for  thirty  seconds.  Asked  for  the  difference  be- 
tween paper  and  cloth,  said  ''paper  is  paper"  and  "cloth  is 
cloth."  When  the  question  was  repeated,  he  said  "paper  is 
easier  to  tear."  Asked  the  difference  between  a  butterfly  and 
a  fly,  said  "A  butterfly  has  big  wings,  a  fly  has  small."  Said 
"Wood  is  more  useful  for  building  than  glass."  He  could  re- 
member seven  figures.  Had  some  difficulty  with  rhymes,  but 
could  occasionally  make  one  or  two.  As  a  rhyme  with  dim, 
said  "  sim."  Could  give  no  more.  With  feet ;  seat,  deep.  Could 
not  get  another.  With  spring ;  "sing,"  "thing,"  "tang."  With 
money;    "honey,"  "funny,"  "dunny,"  "dinner." 

The  following  description  of  his  work  in  basketry  is  typical. 
"He  is  inclined  to  get  very  careless.  He  started  a  small  basket 
using  the  Indian  stitch  and  did  it  nicely  at  the  beginning  but  his 
interest  gave  out  very  soon.  I  find  the  same  thing  whenever  he 
weaves  a  basket." 

He  was  always  cheerful,  never  quarrelsome,  was  active  and 
obedient,  affectionate,  truthful,  good  tempered,  not  destructive ; 
was  rather  mischievous.  It  would  take  him  hours  to  learn  four 
lines  and  he  would  forget  it  rather  quickly  unless  constantly 
used.  This  boy  ran  away,  some  time  since,  and  his  whereabouts 
are  now  unknown.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  if  he  gets  into  trouble 
no  judge  or  jury  is  likely  to  believe  that  he  is  not  thoroly  respon- 
sible for  anything  that  he  may  do.  No  one  but  experts  in  the 
field  of  feeble-mindedness  would  suspect  anything  wrong  with 
him.  He  is  the  kind  of  case  that  makes  the  skeptic  believe 
that  the  Binet  tests  are  absolutely  wrong,  but  ten  years' 
experience  with  him  in  the  Institution  proves  beyond  the 
shadow  of  a  doubt,  that  he  is  as  truly  mentally  defective  as  any 
boy  in  the  School.  He  will  undoubtedly  marry  or  become  a 
father  and  the  consequences  are  easily  guessed  by  reference  to 
the  chart. 

Here  we  see,  on  his  mother's  side,  a  thoroly  defective  family. 


HEREDITARY    GROUP.      MENTALITY   9 


113 


while  on  the  father's  side,  altho  there  are  a  number  of  normals, 
there  is  at  least  something  wrong  since  a  cousin  is  feeble-minded, 
and  Isador's  father  altho  normal,  was  sexually  imftioral ;  but  the 
boy  is  by  no  means  an  exception  in  our  Institution  for  the  feeble- 
minded, while  among  the  boys  on  the  street  his  pHght  is  only  too 
common.  It  is  the  great  problem  before  us  to-day,  to  learn  to 
recognize  this  high  grade  type  of  pleasant,  agreeable  and  seem- 
ingly normal  boys,  who,  nevertheless,  are  so  defective  as  to  be 
irresponsible  for  their  acts. 


CHART  26 


D 


O 


D 


HUSBAND      J,  DROPSY  *TEr*  "BRAIN  ^^  ^^ 


SPEECH  DON  S. 

DEFECT  , 

ll 


i55@®Shol]h 


CASE  26.  DON  S.  18  years  old.  Mentality  9.  Has  been  here  6 
years.  American  born,  father  German,  mother  American.  Had  convul- 
sions at  the  age  of  three,  measles  at  eight.  Assigned  cause  "  struck  with 
a  baseball  bat  when  six  years  old." 

This  is  a  typical  case  of  the  good  natured  dull  boy,  found  so 
often  in  the  pubHc  schools,  whom  the  teacher  is  so  loath  to 
give  up  as  defective. 

When  Don  came  he  had  been  in  public  school  four  and  a  half 
years;  he  knew  about  half  of  his  alphabet  and  could  count  to 
twenty ;  could  write  and  draw  a  little,  could  recognize  color  but 
not  form.  Was  heedless  of  danger;  dangerous  about  fire;  sly 
and  obstinate.  After  six  years  he  has  gained  a  little  in  his  school 
work,  doing  about  what  we  usually  find  for  those  of  the  mentahty 
of  nine.     He  can  read  fairly  well,  can  write  a  very  fair  story. 


114  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

can  make  some  number  combinations  and  has  a  little  talent  for 
drawing,  makes  quite  fair  pictures.  He  is  much  interested  in 
nature  work  and  will  observe  and  draw.  All  of  this,  however, 
falls  short  of  the  practical  and  he  will  never  make  any  great  use 
of  his  abiHty  along  these  lines.  He  is  already  turning  toward 
the  industrial  arts.  He  has  done  well  in  woodwork  and  now  can 
do  some  carpentry  work  under  the  direction  of  the  carpenter, 
and  will  become  an  excellent  Institution  helper  in  various  lines. 

He  is  cheerful,  active  and  obedient,  very  affectionate,  willing 
and  faithful,  and  generally  liked  by  all  with  whom  he  works. 
He  is  a  very  attractive  looking  boy  of  about  normal  stature. 

There  is  no  mistaking  the  hereditary  character  of  the  condi- 
tion when  we  look  at  the  family  chart,  although,  the  father  and 
mother  both  being  dead,  it  is  impossible  to  determine  their 
mentality ;  but  there  is  so  much  defect  in  the  family  that  there 
cannot  be  serious  doubt  that  the  mother,  at  least,  was  defec- 
tive. This  is  somewhat  heightened  in  probability,  by  the  fact 
that  she  married  a  second  time  and  had  two  defective  children. 
Her  second  husband  was  feeble-minded  also,  still  if  she  had  been 
normal  it  is  likely  that  one  of  the  two  children  would  have  been 
normal. 

A  number  of  Don's  cousins  are  making  trouble  for  the  pubHc 
school  teachers,  as  he  did.  Of  one  it  is  said,  ''tries  his  best 
but  can't  learn."  Of  another,  "he  is  in  the  first  grade  at  eight 
years."  Another  is  in  the  second  grade  at  eleven  years.  Don's 
half  brother  has  a  serious  speech  defect. 

CASE  27.  DONALD  U.  25  years  old.  Mentality  9.  Has  been  here 
13  years.     American  born;   nationality  of  parents  unknown. 

When  admitted  at  the  age  of  twelve  he  was  large  for  his  age, 
stoop  shouldered,  could  not  talk  plainly  but  knew  his  alphabet 
and  could  read  in  the  Second  Reader ;  could  add  and  subtract, 
multiply  by  one  figure  and  do  housework.  He  improved  in 
reading  and  learned  his  table  of  eight  and  did  some  short  divi- 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY   9  115 

sion;  learned  to  read  and  write  numbers  up  to  the  thousands; 
knew  the  important  things  about  New  Jersey  products ;  man- 
aged, eventually,  to  get  as  far  as  the  Third  Reader  but  that 
seemed  to  be  his  limit  and  since  then  he  has  been  working 
on  the  farm  and  he  is  now  doing  exceptionally  well  ;  he 
drives  a  team  of  horses,  ploughs  and  does  other  farm  work  very 
satisfactorily. 

He  is  cheerful  and  obedient,  truthful,  good  tempered,  gen- 
erally Hked  by  all  who  have  anything  to  do  with  him.  He  has 
been  well  trained  here  at  the  School  and  under  supervision  does 
excellent  work  on  the  farm. 

He  is  the  child  of  a  feeble-minded  prostitute,  who  died  of 
syphilitic  infection.  She  had  another  child,  a  girl,  who  w^as 
feeble-minded,  and  then  twins  who 
died  in  infancy  of  syphiHs.  Little 
else  is  known  of  this  family.  A  man 
of  the  same  name  has  been  found  who 
has  a  similar  history  but  whether 
related,  as  husband  or  brother,  is  not 
known. 

The  following  is  the  short  but  tragic 
story  of  Donald's  mother  as  discovered  by  the  Field  Worker : 

Nancy  U.  went  out  to  service.  She'  was  employed  by  good 
famiUes  who  liked  her  very  much,  as  she  was  quiet,  industrious 
and  attended  to  her  own  affairs.  She  had  several  children  of 
whom  she  was  extravagantly  fond.  No  one  suspected  that  she 
was  not  an  honest  woman,  honorably  married  and  leading  a 
moral  life.  It  was  discovered,  however,  that  there  was  no 
husband  in  the  case,  but  that  she  took  men  lodgers  and  her 
house  was  a  very  bad  one.  The  matter  was  brought  before 
the  Court  and  the  children  were  placed  out.  She  was 
feeble-minded  and  afterward  died  of  syphiHs,  as  did  two  of 
her  children. 

The  family  tree  is  necessarily  small  and  imperfect. 


ii6 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


CHART  28 

[^^-r-(N) 


D 


(n)[nic3c1]6[^(^*iI|<n)(n)[n][n][n] 


1ST  HUSBAND 


o 


2NO  HUSBANC 


3ro  husbano 


m 


1 

9 


RAISED 

KAWAY  FROn 
HOME 
FREDDY  U. 


4^  1^1 


CASE  28.  FREDDIE  U.  24  years  old.  Mentality  9.  American  born, 
of  American  parentage.  Has  been  here  10  years.  He  had  measles  at  the 
age  of  6,  scarlet  fever  at  the  age  of  10  and  has  had  pleuro-pneumonia.  In 
late  years,  has  been  in  unusually  good  health. 

At  the  time  of  his  admission  was  only  obedient  to  those  whom 
he  feared  ;  was  dangerous  with  fire  ;  not  trustworthy  nor  truth- 
ful ;  was  profane,  selfish,  vulgar.  Had  attended  school  five  or 
six  years.  He  was  placed  in  our  school  department;  showed 
rather  rapid  improvement  in  conduct;  learned  to  add  simple 
numbers.  Never  learned  to  do  very  much,  however,  in  this 
line  and  could  not  learn  to  read  well.  Did  not  seem  to  care  for 
it.  His  conduct  improved  greatly.  To-day,  he  is  entirely  trust- 
worthy, is  cheerful,  quiet  and  obedient,  sometimes  a  little  stub- 
bom,  is  restless,  sensitive.  He  is  an  excellent  worker  under 
direction.  Can  run  the  buttonhole  machine  and  do  fine  work ; 
is  a  finisher  and  presser  in  the  tailor  shop.  Has  been  assistant 
to  the  electrician  and  does  well  there.  Works  in  the  laundry 
also ;  altogether  he  is  a  very  efficient  Institution  helper. 

On  the  side  of  the  3  R's  he  has  never  progressed  as  will  be 
seen  from  the  following  letter  which  was  written  within  the  year  : 


HEREDITARY    GROUP.      MENTALITY   9  117 

^'Pr  Johnstone 

Write  ing  you  these  few  lines  to 
ash  you  How  my  recards  are  from  ny  tennant  [attendant] 
Also  would  like  to  know  How  ny  recards  are 
for  the  last  two  years  I  would  like  to  know 
Has  any  body  told  you  any  thing  about  me 
that  wasnt  nice     Ive  been  trying  to  do  every 
thing  pssiabe  near  ruut  [right]  as  I  can 
Have  you  any  thing  a  gainist  me  I  have  been 
try  tne  not  to  give  any  trouble  to  any  body 
Miss  Annie  said  she  would  wand  any  better 
boiy  That  i  have  bien  since  Mr  Arnade  and 
her  were  hurt. 

Yours  truly" 

Our  boy  is  one  of  five,  children  of  two  feeble-minded  parents. 
The  oldest  girl  married  a  feeble-minded,  syphihtic  husband  from 
whom  she  contracted  the  disease.  They  had  two  children  who 
were  feeble-minded,  and  two  miscarriages.  An  older  brother  of 
our  boy  died  in  infancy.  A  younger  sister  appears  normal, 
the  youngest  is  feeble-minded.  This  normal  child  of  two  fee- 
ble-minded parents  is  one  of  the  few  apparent  exceptions  to  the 
rule,  that  feeble-minded  parents  have  only  feeble-minded  chil- 
dren.    We  shall  discuss  this  case  later  in  connection  with  others. 

CASE  29.  GODFREY  W.  23  years  old.  Mentality  9.  Has  been 
here  15  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  measles  at  one 
year,  spasms  at  fourteen  months.  Assigned  cause  "  fall  from  a  coach  at 
fourteen  months." 

Godfrey  has  had  about  the  usual  experience  for  boys  of  his 
mentality.  He  was  eight  years  old  when  admitted,  was  consid- 
ered an  average  looking  child,  could  not  take  care  of  himself 
thoroly,  was  forgetful,  not  very  obedient.  Did  not  know  the 
alphabet,  could  count  on  his  fingers  to  ten,  careless  and  dangerous 
with  fire.  He  was  placed  at  once  in  the  kindergarten  and  did 
very  well,  "  learned  to  count  to  ten."  In  the  next  four  years  he 
learned  to  write  about  fifteen  words  from  memory ;  this  is  the  last 


ii8 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


CHART  29  SECTION  i 

SAID  TO  HAVE  BEEN  18  CHILDREN 

I      I     I     I      I      I       I   JA 1       I       I 


p  0  iFf<DW5^>7-n 

ULIAR       PECUUAR  I  / 

«  «  / 

SR.  CH.  /  / 


4  2  6 


MOTHERS  FAHILY 


CHART    29  SECTION  2 


5S^ffiS^^-i-d 


JANE 

VCANCER   FOR  DESCEND- 
ANTS SEE 
SECTION  3 


^x      "*  Sx  I 


FATHERS  FAHILY 


Sm  <i~^  a    a       (§® 


GODFREY  W. 


CHART   29   SECTION  3 


^  X       FOR  SIBS  SEE 

SECTION  2 


D-i-O 


9d<® 


D 


HARRIED  I       ^^ 

AT  LEAST  12  I 

DIFFERENT  WOMEN  I 


FAMILY  OF  JANE 
FATHER'S  MATERNAL  AUNT 


D 


66^ 


% 


HEREDITARY    GROUP.      MENTALITY   9 


119 


mention  of  any  book  work,  and  he  is  reported  to-day  as  not  being 
able  to  read,  write  or  count.  He  does  well  on  the  second  cornet. 
At  present  Godfrey  is  doing  good  work  in  the  tailor  shop  and  is 
a  valuable  member  of  the  band. 


CHART    29sEmoN4 


D 


O 


°T<5dafiSM&T<> 

TUHOR         I  I  PARALYSIS    PARALYSIS     PARALYS 

4U     1  3 


6  iiiVii9g°?6'^6<)666 

I  V»X      JAKE  I  I    PARALYSIS/  .urDL,,..  T  I 

J  ^^  ALMSHOUSE     j  J  /  NERVOUS  I  I 

•  PARALYSIS  /  I  Z  Z 

_L  I  PATFRNAI   rDAMn_  X  I 


00 


d& 


CHART  29  SEaioN8 


D-T-O 


••BLACK  DUTCH" 


(^SS^^m-o 


FOR  DESCENDANTS  SEE     SEaiON  6 


MATERNAL  GRAND- 
MOTHER 
SEE  SECTION  I. 


5W^ 


SEE  SElTIOn  I.      I        _ 


POORHOUSE  I  '      ,  I  I 1 ■  I 

W    I  ILLEG         I 


lis 


IttEG        iMl     SOME  WERE  MATERNAL  CRANO- 

IINJ     COLORED  FATHERS  FAMILY 


n— ISx 

1^© 


120 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


CHART   29  SECTIONS 


D 


O 


"BLACK  DUTCH" 


\  \  13  DESCENDANTS 
\  2  !if  e'^GIT.MATE    FO"  SIBS  see 

\    BOT„PA.A.VS,S^       T          I  .-L 

I                              \                            \        I        F 17  DESCENDANTS  I 

T                                                        I  L                                     YOUNG 

^  2 


LLEGITIMATE 

s;'  *^vsx 


MATERNAL  GREAT-  GREAT.  GRAND-  FATHER'S  FAMILY 


The  hereditary  character  of  his  defect  is  too  obvious  to  need 
any  discussion. 

CASE  30.  IVA  C.  38  years  old.  Mentality  8.  Has  been  here  23  years. 
American  born,  of  American  parentage.  Iva  is  an  epileptic,  is  said  to  have 
had  some  form  of  paralysis  at  the  age  of  6.  Has  had  measles  and  whooping- 
cough. 

Upon  admission  at  the  age  of  15,  was  defective  in  her  walk 
and  somewhat  lame  from  the  paralysis.  Slightly  defective  in 
speech.  Was  passionate,  somewhat  destructive  and  obstinate. 
Attention  was  very  poor  and  memory  also.  Could  spell  some 
words  with  three  letters,  count  to  a  hundred  but  not  write.  Was 
for  a  while  very  hard  to  manage.  Used  to  have  violent  and 
angry  spells,  perhaps  from  epilepsy.  Never  got  any  farther  in 
school  work  or  intellectual  development.  Became  better  be- 
haved and  a  good  worker,  especially  in  the  laundry.  At  present 
is  a  decrepit  old  woman  at  2>^,  cranky,  quarrelsome,  stubborn, 
active,   obedient,   sometimes  cheerful  and  affectionate,   willing 


CASE   27,    DONALD   U.,   AGE   25.  MENTALLY   9. 

CASE   30,   IVA   C,   AGE   38.  MENTALLY   8. 

CASE   31,   MARCELLUS    C,    AGE   20.     MENTALLY    8. 


HEREDITARY    GROUP.      MENTALITY   8 


121 


and  tries,  truthful,  excitable,  sensitive.  Will  take  things  that 
do  not  belong  to  her  and  is  not  now  able  to  do  much  hard  work. 
Both  parents  are  feeble-minded,  father's  sister  is  feeble-minded, 
six  brothers  and  sisters  normal,  the  grandfather  was  feeble- 
minded and  tuberculous,  his  wife  a  normal  woman  who  died  of 
heart  trouble  at  the  age  of  57.     The  mother  is  feeble-minded 


T     / 


^®ft 


CHART    30 


®  ®  E  ®  U  S  (n)  ©  ^  "]"  i 

ALMSHOUSE 
6  i  2 


// 


M6b 


©DHDDO 


00OH     N 


I   I  I  I 


and  was  an  illegitimate  child.  Her  mother  married  a  normal 
man  and  had  five  children,  one  feeble-minded,  three  undeter- 
mined, the  other  normal.  This  normal  woman  had  among  others 
a  feeble-minded  boy  who  is  in  our  institution  (Case  No.  107). 
Iva  has  a  feeble-minded  brother.  There  were  two  children 
that  died  in  infancy,  and  three  miscarriages. 

CASE  31.  MARCELLUS  C.  20  years  old.  Mentality  8.  Has  been 
here  9  years.  Born  in  Italy,  came  here  when  three  years  old,  Italian 
parents.  Struck  with  a  cane  when  10  years  old,  condition  said  to  have 
been  due  to  that. 

Marcellus  is  a  moron  of  the  slow  phlegmatic  type.  Has  about 
the  usual  history  of  boys  of  his  age  in  general  school  work.  Has 
now  settled  down  to  routine  housework  in  dormitory  and  cottage, 
always  under  direction.  Is  cheerful  and  willing,  quiet  and 
obedient,  rather  affectionate ;  truthful ;  is  fond  of  singing, 
speaking  pieces,  playing  musical  instruments  and  croquet.  Is 
strong  and  healthy. 


122 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


Here  we  see  that  it  is  not  necessary  to  call  in  the  accident  to 
account  for  the  condition.     A  younger  sister  is  also  defective ; 


D 


UVINC  IN  ITALY 


CHART   31 

-o 

UVINC  IN  ITALY 


D 


SEVERAL 
CHILDREN 
UVINC  IN  ITALY 


o 


aa-H^65 


the  mother  and  her  sister 
were  defective.     Another 
child  is  in  the  Children's 
Home,  whether  defective 
or  not  has  not  been  de- 
termined.    We  have   the 
defect  clearly  marked  in 
two     generations     which 
definitely  establishes  the 
hereditary  character. 
This  case  is  also  interesting  as  showing  the  relation  to  immi- 
gration.    The  family  came  to  this  country  when  Marcellus  was 
three  years  old.     He,  being  a  moron,  probably  seemed  normal 
at  that  time  but  the  mother's  defect  also  passed  unchallenged. 


[SliS^TB^ 


i 


MARCELLUS  C 


(5& 


CHART   32 


O 


ff^53'5S&T<55^ 


6Eiy6ii6d'i^'ii-j-®g^ 

I  I  QUENTIN  D. 

CASE  32.  QUENTIN  D.  28  years  old.  Mentality  8.  Has  been  here 
7  years.  American  born,  of  American  parentage.  Had  measles  at  the  age 
of  8  years,  chills  and  fever  at  the  age  of  16. 


HEREDITARY    GROUP.      MENTALITY   8  123 

When  admitted  at  the  age  of  20,  head  was  small,  knew  commor 
colors,  could  read  and  write  a  little,  was  fond  of  music  ;  sight  and 
hearing  good.  His  defect  showed  when  he  was  five  or  six  years 
old.  At  present  he  can  read  in  the  Fourth  Reader  and  write  a  fail 
letter  with  many  misspelled  words.  Works  in  the  stable  and  keeps 
it  in  excellent  condition.  More  recently  has  had  some  develop- 
ments which  point  to  a  possible  insanity,  although  this  has  not  yet 
come  to  a  point  where  it  is  possible  to  make  a  definite  diagnosis 

This  is  a  family  of  what  might  be  called  border-Kne  people 
many  of  them  being  difficult  to  determine,  while  some  are  clearly 
defective.  Our  boy  has  an  older  brother  who  is  defective,  al- 
though high-grade.  He  has  married  and  has  two  children,  one 
of  whom  is  clearly  feeble-minded.  There  are  two  normal  sisters 
three  undetermined  and  one  miscarriage. 

The  mother  of  our. boy  is  a  normal  woman  and  nothing  oJ 
importance  is  known  of  her  family.  The  father  is  feeble-mindec 
and  immoral;  deserted  his  wife.  He  had  two  brothers  whc 
were  immoral.  A  cousin  of  the  father's,  a  woman,  is  feeble- 
minded. She  was  the  mother  of  seven  children,  one  at  least  oJ 
whom  is  feeble-minded.  The  others  cannot  be  determined.  A 
cousin  of  this  woman  is  insane,  as  was  her  great  aunt. 

CASE  33.  KARL  E.  About  23  years  old.  Mentality  8.  Has  beer 
here  12  years. 

When  he  came  at  the  age  of  about  11,  he  could  not  dress  him- 
self or  use  knife  and  fork,  did  no  work,  could  throw  a  ball  but 
not  catch  one.  Was  truthful,  trustful,  passionate,  indolent,  no1 
easily  managed.  In  our  school  department,  he  gradually  im- 
proved, learned  to  do  some  kindergarten  work  in  the  first  year 
learned  to  dress  himself.  His  improvement  was  very  slow 
however,  and  after  five  years  he  could  do  such  number  com- 
binations as  3  plus  5,  4  plus  2,  Nine  years  after  admission 
it  was  reported  that  he  did  not  know  his  right  from  his  lefi 
hand.    Has  probably  reached  his  Hmit  in  mental  training.     Can 


124 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


&-U 


o 


R^UTS  ABUSED  Ysj— 1 

<OWN  DESERTED  N         I 

HIS  WIFE  I I 


KARL  E. 


2ND  HUSB«NO 

m 


not  read  or  write.     Attention  is  very  poor  ;  imitation  poor  ; 

observation  fairly  good.    Works  at  the  barn  and  about  the  cot- 

cHART  33  tage.     Is  cheerful,  cranky, 

sometimes  quarrelsome, 
stubborn,  active,  obedient, 
excitable,  quick  tempered, 
destructive  and  mischiev- 
ous. Is  willing  and  tries 
but  is  really  very  dull. 

Both  parents  were  feeble- 
minded. Of  the  three 
children,  the  oldest  is  Karl, 
a  sister  is  feeble-minded ;  the  third  child  was  born  dead,  said 
to  be  the  result  of  abuse,  the  father  being  very  brutal.  He  left 
his  wife  years  ago  and  has  not  been  heard  from.  The  mother 
went  back  to  Ireland  and  left  the  children  in  the  almshouse. 

The  sister  of  Karl  is  an  interesting  character.  She  has  been 
dependent  for  years  and  has  been  placed  in  various  homes  but 
has  never  been  able  to  retain  a  place  or  position,  has  been  thought 
insane  and  has  made  a  great  deal  of  trouble.  She  has  not 
been  recognized  as  feeble-minded  but  is  considered  pecuhar  and 
a  great  problem  among  the  social  workers.  As  a  matter  of  fact 
she  is  feeble-minded  and  should  not  be  at  large.  Sooner  or  later 
she  will  undoubtedly  perpetuate  this  feeble-minded  strain. 

CASE  34.  KEITH  E.  i6  years  old.  Mentality  8.  Been  here  6  years. 
American  born,  American  parents.  The  mother's  intemperance  and  the 
father's  nervousness  given  as  the  cause.  The  child  had  measles  at  the  age 
of  five. 

Keith  is  one  of  the  most  disappointing  cases  in  the  whole 
School.  He  is  a  handsome  boy  with  no  marks  of  his  defect  on 
his  body ;  quite  active  and  pleasant  spoken,  just  the  kind  of 
boy  to  tempt  any  teacher  to  believe  that  with  a  little  special 
training  he  could  be  made  thoroughly  normal ;  yet  every  effort 
put  upon  him  meets  with  failure.     Not  that  he  has  been  untrain- 


CASE  33,  KARL  E.,  AGE  23.  MENTALLY  8. 
CASE  34,  KEITH  E.,  AGE  16.  MENTALLY  8. 
CASE   36,    IVAN    I.,    AGE    12.  MENTALLY   8. 


HEREDITARY    GROUP.      MENTALITY    8  125 

able  but  he  does  not  improve  by  training  as  a  normal  boy  would, 
nor  does  he  approach  normality  as  one  is  led  to  hope  he  might. 
He  has  never  been  able  to  do  much  with  his  reading,  writing 
and  counting ;  if  he  were  in  a  public  school  this  would  probably 
be  attributed  to  his  love  of  mischief,  his  disobedience  or  some 
other  of  his  similar  characteristics.  As  a  matter  of  fact  it  is  due, 
as  in  most  cases,  to  his  actual  lack  of  mentaHty.  He  cannot  un- 
derstand these  abstractions  and  therefore  has  no  interest  in  them 
and  gives  his  attention  to  other  more  attractive  matters.  He 
talks  distinctly  and  much ;  can  speak  a  piece  but  it  takes  him 

CHART  34 


In]  [N]  (n)  (n)  [N]  (N)  0  (n) 


ALL  MARRIED  NORMAL 
PEOPLE  AND  HAD  NORMAL 
CHILDREN 


KEITH  E.  3  VRS. 
BELOW 
GRADE  IN 
SCHOOL 


k 


a  very,  very  long  time  to  learn,  say  four  Hues,  soon  forgets 
it  unless  it  is  something  funny;  is  constantly  getting  into 
trouble ;  is  untruthful  and  thieving,  destructive  and  mischie- 
vous ;  requires  very  careful  supervision.  So  one  is  forced  to 
conclude,  after  long  experience,  that  the  irresponsiveness,  which 
was  noticed  in  him  from  the  beginning,  is  due  to  his  low  men- 
taUty,  not  to  anything  wrong  in  his  treatment  nor  in  the  attitude 
of  others  toward  him.  One  can  hardly  imagine  a  more  danger- 
ous person  than  Keith  w^ould  be  if  outside  the  Institution.  He 
would  be  the  victim  of  his  environment  and  he  would  have  just 
enough  mentahty  to  choose  a  bad  environment. 

A  glance  at  his  chart  is  not  reassuring,  for  while  it  is  not  so  bad 
as  many,  yet  his  mother  is  feeble-minded  and  immoral  and  the 
mother  of  several  illegitimate  children.     The  father  was  insane 


126 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


but  seems  to  have  belonged  to  a  normal  family,  and  so  we  see 
again  that  the  assigned  cause  of  his  defect  probably  plays  little 
part,  the  real  cause  being  bad  protoplasm. 

Keith  can  do  a  great  deal  of  industrial  work  if  he  will ;  has 
worked  with  the  gardener,  in  the  laundry,  the  carpenter  shop,  and 
is  a  milking  boy. 

CHART  35 

n-T-o 


SHIFTLESS  MELAWCHOLY  d.  ^  HUSBAND  L_J  T 

aU  MUSBAND  |In       TN 


(n)(n)|n]  [iB^^il— ^r— ©©Sn^  iSSSl] 


m 


(§^  ^i\h\k 


BABY     BAB^ 


k 


CASE  35.  DOUGLAS  H.  14  years  old.  Mentality  8.  Has  been  here 
7  years.     American  born,  of  American  parents.     Instrumental  delivery. 

Douglas  is  another  one  belonging  to  that  type  that  is  so 
difficult  to  recognize  as  feeble-minded.  With  a  certain  bright- 
ness in  several  lines,  very  affectionate,  with  some  imagination 
and  alertness,  he  fully  passes  for  normal  until  it  comes  to  train- 
ing. He  has  never  been  able  to  accomphsh  much  in  the  three 
R's  and,  indeed,  in  the  Industrial  Department  does  only  mediocre 
work.  He  is  only  fourteen  years  old  and  small  for  his  age.  He 
will  undoubtedly  settle  down  later  to  the  coarser  Institution  work, 
such  as  farming  or  care  of  poultry.  His  imagination  is  rather 
stronger  than  in  most  of  his  type,  as  a  result  he  plays  well,  alone  or 
with  others.  He  is  cheerful,  active,  affectionate,  willing  and  tries, 
is  easily  managed,  is  very  fond  of  his  mother  and  grandmother. 

The  family  chart  would  indicate  the  strong  probability  that 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY   8 


127 


this  is  a  case  of  true  heredity.  The  paternal  grandmother  was 
feeble-minded  and  a  sister  of  hers  was  considered  insane.  Doug- 
las's father  was  alcohoUc  and  questionably  normal.  The  father's 
brother  was  alcohoHc  and  immoral,  and  another  brother  was 
alcoholic.  The  entire  family  are  of  a  low  type,  although  we  are 
not  quite  justified  in  marking  them  mentally  defective. 


IHHr(5 


CHART  36 


^do'SY<2)[^[N](^(N)(b66  B^ 


<i(i'[N][N][N](N)(^li^-J-<N)(N)[N]     I^Hfi^^^ 

2  2  e  2 


(N)^|i(N)tlb 

L  YOUNG 


CASE  36.  IVAN  I.  12  years  old.  Mentality  8.  Has  been  here  2  years. 
American  born,  father  American,  mother  Irish.  Has  had  measles.  Instru- 
ments were  used  at  birth.  The  cause  of  the  condition  given  is  *'  congenital 
defect." 

Ivan  was  ten  when  he  came  to  the  School ;  he  could  read  a 
very  little,  count  to  twenty,  knew  color  and  form.  Is  learning 
basketry  and  woodwork,  as  well  as  some  work  in  the  cottage 
such  as  making  beds;  in  school  work  "has  to  be  constantly 
urged  to  work,  as  he  is  very  lazy." 

The  family  history  shows  clearly  that  the  cause  of  the  defect 
is  hereditary  feeble-mindedness.  The  Field  Worker's  comment 
is  worth  quoting,  ''It  is,  all  along  the  line,  one  of  those  psycho- 
logical problems  where  weak-willed  individuals  have  combined 
with  moral  degenerates  until  somewhere  real  mental  defect 
comes  in  ;  just  where  it  would  be  hard  to  say." 


128 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

SECTION 

o 


CHART   37  SECTION 

n- 


HAKY  JOSEPH 


0    6    d    6 

JENNY  I  _ 

b  6mb  (iSSa  jS35i. 


HENRY  MOLL   PAVE  BECKIE  FANNY  CHAS.  JERR16 

XVV       FOR  DESCENDANTS    SEE  SECTIONS  2  TO  10 


do  do  (J)  [N] 


CHART   37  SECTION  2 


// 


CHILDREN  OP  NOU. 


6  dD  b^p^^btK^.i  iX^ 


6555i  (554  (§^5555^  fi©^ 


CHART  37  SECTION  3 


CHILDREN  OP  MOLL 


CASE  37.  NORA  I.  15  years  old.  Mentality  8.  Has  been  here  4 
years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Accident  or  acute  sickness 
supposed  to  be  the  cause  of  the  condition. 

Nora  came  here  at  the  age  of  twelve.  At  that  time  she  un- 
derstood  and   obeyed   a   command   and  knew  all   her   letters, 


HEREDITARY    GROUP.      MENTALITY    8 


129 


could  read  a  little,  count  to  four  or  five,  do  an  errand,  dust,  and 
wash  dishes,  under  supervision.  Nine  months  after  admis- 
sion she  had  learned  to  iron  an  apron ;  could  copy  nicely ;  could 


CHART  37    SECTION  4 


CHILDREN  OF  DAVE 


CHART  37  SECTION  8. 


CONCLUDED  NEXT  SECTION 


r^ 


6li(N)[i](N)(N)tl6tl    [5© 


CHART    37   SECTIONS 

lA 


END  WIFE 


m-r-&  iii[Ni(N)(N)iiii]ii  (§■"!) 


^\hm\k\h 


I30 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


CHART  37 

BECKIE 


65b[SaK5Ki' 


ILLCGITIMATC 


WHEREABOUTS  UNKNOWN 


CHART  37    SECTION  a 

D-T-O 


'         '  YOUNG 
^^^  CHILDREN 


CHILOREN  or  CHARLES' 


CHART    37  SECTION  o 


'—(b  d  \h 


FOR  TWO  nORE 
BROTHERS  SEE 
NEXT  SECTION 


B^'    t^    l^,fl 


I  NORA  I. 


CHILDREN  OP  JEUy 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY   8 


131 


saw  a  board.  A  year  later  it  is  recorded  ''Her  basketry  is  good, 
woodwork  fair,  is  doing  well  in  ironing,  much  improved  in 
English,  is  rather  careless  in  cottage  work."  A  year  later  in 
English  ''Tries  hard,  wants  to  be  in  the  Second  Reader,  knows 
very  few  number  combinations,  not  even  to  ten ;  sews  well, 
plays  well  in  the  band."  In  191 2,  a  year  later,  "Careless  with 
woodwork,  interested  in  sewing,  leads  in  physical  culture."  So 
she  too  settles  down  to  housework  with  no  other  accomplish- 
ment.    She  is  rather  a  normal  looking  girl  although  dull,  and 

CHART    37  SECTION  lo 


6 


'^^      [^Kl^  [>^(N) 


^®Sti  (SSW  ^©h 


surely  needs  the  protection  of  an  Institution  to  save  both  her 
and  society.  She  is  cheerful,  active  and  obedient,  rather  affec- 
tionate, is  very  willing,  good  tempered. 

Nora  belongs  to  a  thoroughly  defective  family;  her  mother 
was  a  feeble-minded  woman,  sexually  immoral,  and  belonged  to 
a  family  defective  like  herself.  Of  the  father  Httle  is  known 
except  that  he  was  alcoholic. 

CASE  38.  STEPHEN  I.  28  years  old.  Mentality*  8.  Has  been  here 
2  years.  American  born,  father  German,  mother  American.  Instruments 
were  used  at  birth.  Child  had  scarlet  fever  at  five  years ;  measles  at  nine, 
whooping-cough  in  the  same  year.    Has  had  chronic  mastoiditis  and  epilepsy. 

Stephen  is  a  large,  strong,  well-built,  well-proportioned  boy ; 
writes  and  does  number  work  fairly ;   is  excitable  and  nervous ; 


132 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


is  especially  noted  for  destroying  things,  a  habit  to  which  he  has 
been  inclined  since  the  age  of  eight.  He  is  inclined  to  be  quiet 
and  retiring,  not  very  sociable  with  the  other  children.  He  is  an 
excellent  worker  and  can  help  the  mason  or  electrician,  or  do 
other  similar  work. 


CHART   38 


D 


o 


D 


O 


Td.  d.         LAZY 

I  UNTIDY 


^^^       ^^      ^^^  STEPHEN  I. 

k 

The  following  brief  letter  very  well  represents  him ;  his  hand- 
writing is  poor  but  it  is  the  somewhat  illegible  writing  of  an  adult 
rather  than  the  coarse  crude  writing  of  a  child,  yet  the  structure 
of  the  letter  shows  the  child  mind. 

March  3  191 1 
My  dear  Mother 

I  hope  you  are  all  well  why  do  you  not 
write  to  me  ?     I  did  not  get  one  letter  from  you 
since  about  two  weeks  please  do  write  to  me.     I  hope 
you  will  soon  come  to  see  me  dear  mother  will  you  be 
so  kind  and  send  me  again  two  box  of  candy  like  the 
one  you  sent  me  before  dear  mother.     The  weather  up 
here  was  very  bad  on  Friday  nearly  all  day  Next  week 
I  shall  write  to  father  a  nice  letter.     Will  you  be  so 
kind  dear  mother  send  me  some  matazines  and  one  very 
month.     Be  sure  and  come  to  see  me  this  month. 
I  Hke  to  have  the  candy  soon  dear  mother.     I  shall 
write  you  a  longer  letter  soon.     I  am  well.     Please 
tell  John  to  write  to  me  soon. 
Love  to  all 

Yours  loving  son 

Stephen 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.      MENTALITY   8 


133 


The  family  history  shows  the  hereditary  taint  as  can  be  seen 
from  the  chart. 

CASE  39.  TOMMY  AND  FANNIE  M.  Tommy  22  years  old. 
Mentality  8.  Has  been  here  7  years.  Fannie  19  years  old.  Mentality  5. 
Has  been  here  12  years.  American  born  and  of  American  parentage. 
Condition  said  to  be  congenital.  Both  have  had  scarlet  fever.  Fannie 
has  had  measles,  Tommy  whooping-cough. 

Upon  admission,  Tommy  did  not  speak  clearly,  had  attended 
pubhc  school  four  years  but  could  not  read;  could  count  to 
100  imperfectly.  After  he  had  been  here  three  years,  he  had 
learned  to  read  a  little  in  the  First  Reader  and  write  a  short 
story.  To-day  he  is  a  fairly  good  worker  in  the  dining  room,  is 
quiet     and     obedient. 


CHART  39 


& 


O     & 


I i       pr 

\  d.  .t  30 


O^ 


<:)' 


©ODii  do  iSioi] 


i  k 


TOHHY  fc  FANNIE  H. 


willing  and  tries,  truth- 
ful ;  very  slow,  indiffer- 
ent to  other  children ; 
learns  a  new  occupa- 
tion very  slowly ;  needs 
much  supervision. 

Fannie  was  8  years 
old  when  admitted, 
Httle  and  clumsy,  very 
heavy  set,  somewhat 
defective  in  speech,  memory  not  very  good  ;  could  dry  the  dishes  ; 
liked  to  sew.  To-day,  she  has  improved  a  Httle ;  is  a  helper  in 
the  cottage  and  somewhat  useful,  but  on  the  whole,  is  very  dull 
and  phlegmatic ;  is  cheerful,  cranky  and  quarrelsome,  affectionate. 

They  have  a  younger  brother  who  is  reported  as  being  normal, 
but  this  is  very  doubtful.  He  is  14  years  old  and  only  in  the 
Fifth  Grade.  Possibly  he  appears  normal  because  he  is  rela- 
tively brighter  than  his  brother  and  sister. 

Referring  to  the  chart,  we  see  that  the  mother  is  epileptic ;  her 
father  was  normal;  nothing  else  is  known.  On  the  father's 
side  there  is  more  defect ;  he  and  his  three  sisters  being  all  feeble- 


134 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


minded,  as  was  their  mother.  An  older  sister  married  a  feeble- 
minded man  and  had  three  feeble-minded  children  and  one  that 
died  in  infancy. 


i55& 


o 


6i-r^ 


BURNED  TO 
DEATH  IN 
UHE  KILN 


!ra-f^ 


aSYRS.         '^  FANNIE  N.  I lA^/  *^ 


6©      u     ©S"^S5a^S® 


P-T-O 


CHART  40  SECTION  i 


SEE    SECTION  I 


t]  6  6  6  CHT^  ^^  <5 


t 


CASE  40.  FANNIE  N.  21  years  old.  Mentality  8.  Has  been  here 
1 1  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  measles  at  the  age  of 
three,  whooping-cough  at  the  age  of  five.  Has  had  paralysis.  This  is  a  case 
of  partial  paralysis,  the  date  of  which  cannot  be  learned.  It  has  affected 
the  right  leg  which  is  some  four  or  five  inches  shorter  than  the  other. 

Upon  admission  at  the  age  of  ten,  she  was  walking  with  a 
crutch,  spoke  clearly,  was  obedient,  knew  a  few  letters,  could 


HEREDITARY    GROUP.     MENTALITY   8  135 

count  to  twenty ;  knew  most  of  the  colors ;  her  memory  and 
attention  were  said  to  be  poor ;  could  wash  dishes  and  sew  carpet 
rags ;  had  never  been  to  school  but  had  had  private  instruction 
for  two  years.  In  our  School  Department  she  made  some 
progress  until  now  she  is  able  to  write  a  fairly  good  letter  although 
the  spelling  and  the  handwriting  are  very  poor.  As  usual  her 
handwork  is  much  better,  indeed  it  is  very  good.  She  is  a 
careful,  neat  worker  and  does  well,  especially  in  sewing.  She 
does  well  in  woodwork  and  also  in  basketry.  Her  disposition  is 
very  uneven ;  she  is  sometimes  cheerful,  at  other  times  cranky, 
quarrelsome  and  stubborn;  she  is  not  always  obedient;  rather 
affectionate  but  quick  tempered  and  excitable. 

The  following  is  her  story  about  spiders  written  Dec.  2, 
1909  ;  the  writing  is  so  poor  that  it  is  very  difficult  to  make  out ; 
we  have  retained  her  spelling  and  punctuation. 

Dec.  2,  1909. 
''The  spidres  make  a  meb  and  live  init 
they  have  little  baby  spidres  I  like  to  see  the 
Kttle  pidres  the  meve  ther  meeb  with  thread  they 
put  it  in  the  green  hedge  they  breaks  very  they  make 
me  mounted  it  they  bit  same  times  same  are  black 
and  same  are  greay  same  are  very  big  and  same  are 
very  Kttle  same  are  brown  they  eat  fiys  they  make 
a  tunnel  spidres  make  their  meeb  on  the  nail  I  like 
to  see  then  cone  down  from  the  meb  it  is  fun  to  see 
them." 

The  family  chart  shows  a  rather  unusually  bad  state  of  things. 
Fanny  is  the  eighth  child  of  a  large  family,  both  parents  feeble- 
minded. The  father's  brother  was  burned  to  death  in  a  lime  kiln. 
While  this  is  an  accident  that  may  happen  to  any  one,  the  fam- 
ily history  arouses  a  strong  suspicion  that  he  may  have  been 
stupid  and  ''unable  to  avoid  ordinary  dangers."  We  note  again 
that  the  father's  father  was  killed  by  accident.  The  family  is 
very  defective.     It  is  noticeable  that  a  sister  of  the  mother 


136  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

married  a  cousin  and  they  had  three  feeble-minded  children 
and  one  that  died  in  infancy.  This  would  formerly  have  been 
attributed  to  the  fact  that  the  parents  were  cousins,  ignoring 
the  fact  that  the  mother  was  feeble-minded. 

The  further  fact,  that  all  of  the  mother's  sibs  whom  we 
know  save  one  were  feeble-minded,  would  point  to  the  proba- 
bihty  that  one  of  her  parents  was  feeble-minded.  If  the  sup- 
position of  the  feeble-mindedness  of  these  parents  is  correct, 
we  have  on  this  side  four  generations  of  feeble-minded  people. 

CHART  41 

ALL  UVE  OUT  WEST  *••  *  J  i. 


\h\h(^^^\h(^  i  (N) 


BOTH  DISAPPEARED 
"HAVE  CONE  TO 
SEE  THE  WORLD" 


I 


CASE  41.  STEPHEN  N.  18  years  old.  Mentality  8.  Has  been  here 
9  years.     American  born,  of  American  parents. 

Stephen  was  a  sickly  baby,  his  defect  showed  clearly  at  about 
six  years  of  age.  He  had  rickets  as  a  child,  could  not  walk  until 
he  was  three  years  old.  At  the  age  of  eleven  he  was  still  an 
attractive  boy,  straight  and  erect,  smiling  and  pleasant,  with 
no  stigmata  of  degeneration  nor  external  evidences  of  defect; 
spoke  distinctly;  talked  freely;  was  somewhat  inclined  to  be 
lazy.  He  could  learn  to  recite  quickly,  and  was  altogether  very 
promising.  He  made  some  progress  and  became  able  to  count 
and  add  by  tens  with  objects ;  without  objects  he  cannot  add 
more  than  to  the  sum  of  six.  Made  some  improvement  in  his 
school  studies,  gradually  however,  his  school  jvork  became  poor 
and  careless.  Finally  he  had  to  be  taken  out  of  school  without 
having  achieved  anything  of  value.  He  has  grown  coarse  and 
rough  and  is  a  typical  middle  grade  boy.  His  attainments  in 
letter  writing  are  indicated  by  the  following :  — 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY   8  137 

Vineland,  N.  J 
Oct  18,  1 9 10. 

Dear  John 

You  11  stt  that 
I  an  writing  to  you 
as  I  said  I  would 
I  hope  your  big 
brother  it  will 
as  I  an  well  and 
happy  boy. 
I  would  like  to 
known  how  Reudie  is 
I  an  thinking  of 

you  every  day 

as  you  know  I  am 
How  is  your  mother 
and  father  I  an 
working  in  the  house 
barn.     I  daret  hart 
you  to  write  to 
me  as  soon 
please  dont  forget 
Now  is  my  sister 
and  by  brothers 
till  them  that 
I  send  my  loe  to 
them  and  wich 
then  to  carl  cut 
to  see  me  — 
I  will  close 
with  best 

wich  to  you 
all  you  refind 

Stephen  N. 

The  absurd  combinations  of  letters  are  due  to  his  penmanshrp. 
Undoubtedly  he  intended  in  the  first  line,  for  instance,  to  write 
''  see  "  but  he  did  make  an  ''  s  "  and  two  "  t's  "  —  likewise  he  makes 
an  ''n  "  when  he  means  an  '^m."     When  the  writing  and  spelHng 


138  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

are  corrected  one  sees  the  childish  form  in  which  he  writes.  He 
is  much  inchned  to  use  bad  and  indecent  language.  "^He  is  stub- 
bom,  untruthful  and  thieving,  moody ;  can  be  good  tempered 
and  cheerful  at  times ;  sometimes  mischievous.  He  is  a  boy 
who  would  get  into  the  worst  of  bad  habits  if  he  were  not  con- 
stantly watched. 

Referring  to  his  family  chart,  we  see  that  he  is  the  fourth  bom 
in  a  family  of  nine ;  there  are  three  normal  children  and  at 
least  one  other  defective.  There  was  one  premature  birth ; 
one  boy  has  disappeared,  —  gone  to  see  the  world,  they  say ; 
another  one  has  also  disappeared  and  is  believed  to  be  dead. 
The  mother  is  feeble-minded.  Practically  nothing  definite  could 
be  learned  of  the  rest  of  the  family  as  they  are  hving  at  a  great 
distance  from  New  Jersey. 


i5a 


CHART    42 


O  Q 


O        Q 


FORCED  nARRUCE 


<!) 


T     ITT    ""'"p" 

2  N.  CR.  CH.  2U 

^Y         iA         ^^     ^"^      ^^  WALTERP-  OUT  WEST  ^^  ^"^ 

^  k 

CASE  42.  WALTER  P.  37  years  old.  Mentality  8.  Has  been  here 
23  years.  American  born ;  father  English,  mother  American.  Has  had 
measles,  whooping-cough  and  brain  fever.  Assigned  cause  "  sickness  of 
mother  prior  to  birth  of  child." 

Walter  was  thirteen  when  he  entered  the  School ;  was  under- 
sized, could  partly  dress  himself,  was  not  supposed  to  be  capable 
of  any  useful  occupation.  Under  training,  however,  he  im- 
proved considerably.  In  school  work  he  leamed  to  write  a  few 
sentences  from  memory  and  to  read  a  Kttle,  learned  the  multi- 
plication table  and  at  the  age  of  twenty  it  is  recorded  that  he 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY   8  139 

did  fairly  well  in  subtraction.  All  of  this,  however,  meant  merely 
rote  work  and  he  never  makes  any  use  of  it,  but  he  has  developed 
into  quite  an  efficient  Institution  helper  and  to-day  is  a  good 
worker ;  likes  kitchen  work  especially.  He  has  a  great  in- 
terest in  making  money ;  is  cheerful  and  obedient ;  truthful 
except  when  he  has  stolen  something  and  finds  it  necessary  to 
lie  about  it.  He  is  no  longer  undersized  but  large  and  heavy. 
The  family  history  shows  an  unmistakable  hereditary  taint 
coupled  with  a  generally  low  moral  sense. 


6b 


CHART  43 


O 


ih\k^ — r-d 


KILLED  L  ADOPTED  ADOPTED 

ON  CARS  ]| 

CASE  43.  ISADORE  P.  12  years  old.  Mentality  8.  Has  been  here 
6  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Condition  congenital ;  said 
to  be  due  to  the  shock  of  the  mother  from  seeing  a  child  killed  by  a  train. 

When  admitted  at  the  age  of  six,  it  is  reported  that  he  would 
go  up  and  down  stairs  on  his  hands  and  knees ;  could  not  dress 
or  undress  himself,  obeyed  a  command,  made  sounds  but  did 
not  talk;  would  eat  trash.  Under  training  he  immediately 
improved  greatly.  A  year  later  could  name  all  the  colors  and 
was  considered  the  brightest  Httle  boy  in  the  kindergarten.  He 
understood  everything  said  to  him  and  was  capable  of  some  rea- 
soning ;  has  continued  to  improve  ;  can  read  a  little  in  the  First 
Reader  and  is  good  in  sewing  and  basketry ;  can  do  some  house- 
work ;  has  not  yet  been  successful  in  learning  to  knit.  He  talks 
a  great  deal  but  cannot  be  understood  by  a  stranger.  He  is  a 
cheerful,  affectionate  Httle  fellow,  truthful  and  obedient. 


140 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


Isadora  is  a  third  cousin  to  Karl,  Case  97.  Unfortunately 
we  have  not  been  able  as  yet  to  determine  the  exact  mentahty 
of  the  members  of  Isadore's  immediate  family.  But  there 
is  insanity  in  the  family  and  in  view  of  the  relationship  to  the 
other  family  which  is  decidedly  defective,  one  can  hardly  doubt 
that  this  is  an  hereditary  case.  An  older  sister  is  distinctly 
feeble-minded  and  the  whole  tone  of  the  family  is  very  low. 


CHART  44 


A  Sx 

D 


m^ 


AlS 


T 


65S^i-n^ 


h 


i3»6ii'  ®  [n1[n][n][n] 


CASE  44.  GERALD  Q.  36  years  old.  Mentality  8.  Been  here  23 
years.  American  born,  nationality  of  parents  unknown.  Has  had  whoop- 
ing-cough, diphtheria  and  small-pox. 

.  Gerald  is  a  good  boy  of  the  moron  type ;  works  well  and 
does  all  he  can.  He  is  partially  crippled  by  a  bad  foot  but  gets 
around  quite  actively ;  always  tries  to  do  his  best  work ;  his 
attendant  says  "although  he  is  handicapped,  being  a  cripple, 
yet  the  faithfuhiess  and  perseverance  which  he  has  shown  in 
spite  of  his  condition,  are  worthy  of  much  credit."  A  great 
effort  has  been  made  at  some  time  in  his  hfe  to  teach  him  school 
work.  He  can  add  and  knows  the  names  of  the  New  England 
states ;  he  reads  in  the  Third  Reader  ;  has  memorized  a  number 
of  recitations ;  knows  the  second  and  third  multiplication  tables. 
Last  Christmas  he  wrote  to  Santa  Claus  asking  for  a  red  sweater 
with  black  border,  two  rubber  collars  size  fifteen,  and  a  half 
d;)zen  handkerchiefs. 


CASE  43,  ISADORE  P.,  AGE  12.  MENTALLY  8. 
CASE  44,  GERALD  Q.,  AGE  36.  MENTALLY  8. 
CASE   45,    MOLLIE    Q.,    AGE   32.      MENTALLY   8. 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY   8  141 

The  following  copy  of  a  letter  to  his  mother  illustrates  his 
abihty  in  the  letter-writing  line :  — 

Vineland  NJ. 
April  4,  1910 
*'My  Dear  Mother: 

I  am  going  to  write  you  a  few  lines  to 
let  you  know  how  I  am  getting  along  here  I  have  a 
nice  on  Easter  Sunday  and  did  you  enjoy  your  self 
I  belong  to  the  Kind  Deeds  Club  and  like  it  every 
so  much.     How  are  my  roussions  getting  at  home 
and  do  they  go  to  school  and  will  send  me  your 

picture  to  me  I  got  a  every  nice  tacher  and 
she  good  to  me  I  lots  of  play  names  they  are  good 
to  me  ask  uncle  to  write  to  me  I  got  a  good  Boos 
and  is  good  to  me  and  I  Kke  him  evey  so  much 
How  is  my  aunt  getting  along  at  home  I  will  clouse. 

is  time  for  is  my  bed  time  and  I  say  good 
night 

from  your  son 
Gerald  Q" 

It  is  a  characteristic  letter  for  children  of  his  grade. 

In  the  Binet  test  he  writes  some  dictation  but  very  awkwardly ; 
he  cannot  count  backwards  from  twenty  to  one  nor  count  ten  ;  is 
not  sure  of  the  date  ;  repeats  the  days  of  the  week  and  the  months 
of  the  year,  but  does  not  arrange  the  weights  in  order,  nor  make 
change,  —  nine  cents  from  twenty-five  ;  cannot  put  three  words 
in  a  sentence ;  cannot  give  rhymes  or  remember  seven  figures ; 
does  not  see  absurdities. 

Gerald  is  an  illegitimate  child.  Father  alcoholic  and  mother 
feeble-minded.  The  mother,  later,  married  a  feeble-minded 
man  and  by  him  had  five  children,  of  whom  one  lived  and  is  fif- 
teen years  old,  feeble-minded.  The  mother  had  two  feeble- 
minded brothers  and  one  feeble-minded  sister. 

CASE  45.  MOLLIE  Q.  32  years  old.  Mentality  8.  Has  been  here  19 
years.     American  born ;  mother  American,  father's  birthplace  unknown. 


142 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


When  she  came  was  obedient,  ate  correctly,  could  go  up  and 
down  stairs  by  holding  the  rail  but  could  not  carry  anything  at 
the  same  time ;  could  do  an  errand  but  was  forgetful ;  could 
read  passably,  count,  wTite  a  fair  note,  recognize  color.  For 
the  next  three  years  she  was  beheved  to  be  improving  in  reading, 
writing,  sewing,  clay  modeling  and  arithmetic ;  learned  to  make 
a  dress.  Became  a  cottage  helper  and  was  very  useful  with  the 
young  children.     This  became  her  chief  employment  and  for 

CHART    45 

AlsTISx 


II  I    ~Ei  A 


^-^       ^~^        ^^  ^  ^r    roiDDi  r  TRIPPI.E   --.-.--'  ^^X  ^^^      ^— ^ 


PROBABLY     0     CRIPPLE  CRIPPLE  ^^^^  "T—   N 

b"ro"A'e^^^^  I     \ 


ILLEGITIMATC 


lU  I  |TW,NS|  Kv,       . 

©O0OO 
k  /// 

HOLLY  Q. 


® 


[N] 

a  time,  she  was  quite  valuable  in  that  line.  Of  late,  has  been 
steadily  less  able  to  do  work  ;  is  morose  and  cranky ;  not  truthful ; 
slow ;  has  one  leg  shorter  than  the  other,  which  defect  seems  to 
be  congenital.  It  will  be  noted  that  when  she  was  young,  she 
seemed  to  improve  very  much  and  was  thought  to  be  a  very 
promising  child,  but  at  the  age  of  30  or  less,  she  began  to  dete- 
riorate, which  process  is  continuing.  The  following  is  one  of 
her  recent  letters  to  Santa  Claus  which  shows  she  never  got  very 
far  in  book  work. 

Dear  Santa 

this  is  what  I  would  like  to 
have  for  chirstmas  trunk  and  a  box  of 
write  paper  a  farry  talle  book  this  is 
all  I  want  this  year  and  I  wish  you 
happy  chirstmas. 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY   8 


143 


Both  parents  are  feeble-minded,  father  epileptic  with  two 
feeble-minded  brothers,  one  of  whom  is  sexually  immoral.  The 
mother  also  is  sexually  immoral  and  has  had  children  by  at  least 
four  different  men.  One  of  these  children  is  also  feeble-minded 
and  married  a  normal  woman  and  they  have  a  normal  child. 
Our  MolHe  has  four  sibs,  two  of  them  died  in  infancy  and  the 
other  two  are  unknown. 

The  paternal  grandparents  were  both  feeble-minded.  The 
grandfather  was  epileptic  also  and  had  one  feeble-minded  and  two 
normal  brothers.  The  grandmother  was  alcohoUc  and  sexually 
immoral ;  had  a  sister  who  was  also  feeble-minded  and  immoral. 

This  is  an  almshouse  case.  Quite  a  number  of  this  family 
have  been  in  the  almshouse  and  there  has  been  much  loose  sex- 
uality. We  note  also  some  apparently  inherited  lameness  which 
is  shared  by  our  child  in  common  with  several  of  the  others. 

MolHe  has  not  much  intellect  and  if  out  in  the  world  would 
undoubtedly  be  the  victim  of  bad  men  just  as  her  mother  and 
grandmother  were. 


\56 


CHART    46 


O 


/ 

COUSINS 


D 


N 


<5 


^~^      ^-^  H   BYRS.         t.  Jd.  4.       Vr     I  ■'•  2H0  Wirt 

I'ff  1ST  WIFE     / 


\hm(b  (n)[n]6 


MUTE  CAUSED 
BY  SCARLET 
FEVER 


CASE  46.  MAMIE  S.  28  years  old.  Mentality  8.  Has  been  here 
18  years.  American  born ;  father  Irish,  mother  English.  Assigned  cause, 
mother  struck  in  the  head  by  a  stone.  Child  had  convulsions  at  ten  years. 
Has  had  whooping-cough  and  chicken-pox. 


1 44  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

Mamie  is  sub-normal  in  height  and  weight,  but  otherwise 
not  in  bad  physical  condition.  She  was  admitted  at  the  age 
of  nine.  At  that  time  she  did  not  comprehend  language 
well  and  did  not  always  understand  a  command ;  knew  nothing 
of  school,  letters,  color,  form,  counting;  was  constantly  in 
motion,  had  a  speech  defect.  After  a  few  months  in  school 
could  count  to  forty  and  match  colors.  Six  years  later  it 
is  recorded  she  could  count  to  twenty.  This  indicates  her 
attainment  in  book  work;  in  industrial  lines  she  did  much 
better-  does  good  wood-work,  bead  weaving,  basketry  and 
sewing;  plays  nicely  on  the  comet.  She  is  very  nervous; 
is  quiet,  obedient  and  affectionate,  very  timid,  wilHng  and 
tries,  truthful,  very  sensitive. 

The  accompanying  chart  shows  conclusively  that  the  defect 
is  hereditary.  A  younger  sister  is  feeble-minded,  and  while 
the  father  and  mother  are  undetermined  as  to  their  mentahty, 
the  father  had  a  defective  child  by  another  wife;  he  has  a 
feeble-minded  brother,  nephew  and  niece.  This  is  far  too  much 
defect  in  the  family  to  be  all  accidental. 


Ch-t5^ 


CHART    47 


O 


T^  y^  V J  HUSBAND  0  I 

I  ^"^  ALL  NORMAL 

BN  3N  DESCENDANTS 

lU  2U 

(N)ii6(N)  (5b-t<) 


[Ni(3"66(i)00$[^© 


h 

HENRY  T. 

CASE  47.     HENRY  T.     19  years  old.     Mentality  8.     Has  been  here 
7  years.     Born  in  Scotland,  of  Scotch  parents. 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY   8 


145 


When  he  came  here  at  the  age  of  12,  knew  the  alphabet,  could 
count  to  a  hundred ;  could  do  an  errand ;  had  been  six  years 
in  public  school.  Has  never  been  able  to  make  much  progress 
in  book  work,  but  does  general  farm  work  very  well ;  is  very 
cheerful,  quiet,  quarrelsome,  affectionate,  timid,  not  always 
truthful,  very  mischievous ;  works  in  the  laundry  and  drives  the 
donkey  team.  He  is  a  good  looking  boy ;  a  type  of  farm  laborer 
that  is  often  found,  who  will  work  fairly  well  but  needs  constant 
watching  and  makes  many  blunders. 

His  family  chart  shows  unmistakably  the  signs  of  the  heredi- 
tary influence.  An  older  sister  is  feeble-minded ;  two  brothers 
are  apparently  normal.  Nothing  is  known  of  the  mother  ex- 
cept that  she  was  an  illegitimate  child  and  died  in  child-birth 
at  the  age  of  33,  after  having  given  birth  to  ten  children.  The 
father  is  feeble-minded  and  alcohoUc.  A  second  cousin  of  the 
father  is  feeble-minded  and  epileptic.  Other  branches  of  this 
family  seem  to  be  very  clearly  normal,  although  there  is  con- 
siderable physical  disease,  perhaps  of  a  hereditary  character. 

CHART    48 


H^-O 


D 


O    1^    [^ 


■"    ^^    ^^OIOYRS.^-^    alJ^S  (^  (^  DROWNED  j!  ' 

I         I  d  5  VRS. 

CASE  48.  GEORGE  T.  41  years  old.  Mentality  8.  American  born, 
probably  of  American  parentage.  Has  had  measles,  whooping-cough  and 
scarlet  fever.     Has  been  here  21  years. 

When  he  came,  he  was  reported  as  being  very  nervous,  stam- 
mering a  Httle ;  was  trustworthy  and  obedient  as  long  as  he  re- 


146  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

membered ;  could  do  a  simple  errand  if  he  remembered ;  could  do 
little  house  work.  Has  changed  little  if  any ;  is  still  trusty  and 
obedient,  can  do  simple  work  in  the  kitchen,  also  outdoor  work, 
helping  the  mason  a  little ;  can  play  alto  horn  a  little  ;  is  quiet, 
affectionate,  good  tempered,  but  forgetful.  He  is  about  average 
height  and  weight  for  his  age ;  will-power  as  shown  by  the  dyna- 
mometer very  poor.  He  can  write  his  name,  but  cannot  spell ; 
writes  a  very  poor  letter,  as  is  seen  from  the  following  quotation  : 

Vineld,  N.J. 

Feb.  15th  1 91 1 
My  Dear  siter  I  am  well  and  I  though  I  would 
write  you  to  you  and  let  know  how  I  am  getting, 
alomg,  alright,  mow  and  I  hope  you  are  getting, 
alomg,  alright,  mow  and  we  go  the  hall  every, 
morning,  at  cort  of  nine,  we  sing,  down,  to  the 
hall," 

He  knows  colors ;  can  copy  square  and  diamond ;  can  count  back- 
wards from  20-1 ;  repeats  the  days  of  the  week  and  the  months  of 
the  year;  knows  the  date,  but  cannot  count  the  stamps,  nor 
repeat  five  figures,  nor  arrange  the  weights ;  cannot  make  change 
4^  out  of  20^. 

He  had  two  brothers  feeble-minded,  both  sexually  immoral 
men,  one  a  criminal.  Another  brother  and  sister  are  unknown  as 
to  mentality.  The  mother  had  a  brother  who  was  normal,  with 
a  normal  child  and  grandchild.  The  father  had  a  brother  and 
a  sister  feeble-minded.  Another  brother  is  reported  normal; 
this  can  hardly  be  correct  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  grandparents 
are  both  feeble-minded.  The  sister  of  the  father  married  and  had 
21  children,  of  whom  three  are  known  to  have  been  feeble-minded  ; 
of  the  rest,  all  died  in  infancy  except  three. 

Here  it  will  be  seen  that  we  have  at  least  12  feeble-minded 
people,  with  many  others  undetermined.  This  is  a  rather  com- 
mon type  of  family  with  considerable  degeneracy  in  it,  some 
criminality,  and  a  good  deal  of  shiftlessness.     Altogether  they 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY  8 


147 


are  known  as  undesirable  people,  with  more  or  less  sexual  im- 
morality. 


CHART    49 


br 


<s) 


fo.:.(N)ii-^[N][^(i)(^  •■' 


t  7  VRS.  CRIPPLE  I 

*  S  VRS.  ■ 


CASE  49.  QUENTIN  T.  16  years  old.  Mentality  8.  Has  been  here  7 
years.     Has  serious  strabismus  and  very  imperfect  speech. 

He  is  truthful,  active  and  frank,  inclined  to  be  obstinate; 
has  steadily  improved  since  he  came  to  the  school,  but  is  lazy ; 
can  read  and  write  a  few  words,  but  not  enough  to  be  of  any 
value ;  can  do  very  good  manual  work  in  basketry  and  wood- 
work ;  can  iron  well ;  is  now  a  very  fair  cottage  helper ;  can 
count  to  39,  does  well  in  weaving  and  basketry. 

Father  was  feeble-minded  and  alcoholic ;  mother  normal  and 
of  good  family.  Note  the  consequences  of  her  marrying  a  feeble- 
minded man.  The  father  had  a  normal  sister  and  an  alcoholic 
brother ;  another  child  died  in  infancy.  Of  the  grandparents  on 
this  side,  the  father  was  alcohoHc,  the  mother  normal.  The 
mother  of  our  child  was  normal  and  had  four  normal  brothers 
and  sisters.  Three  others  died  in  infancy.  The  grandparents 
were  normal.  Quentin  is  the  youngest  of  a  large  family  of  whom 
the  first  was  normal.  The  next  four,  two  girls  and  two  boys, 
were  all  feeble-minded,  the  oldest  of  these  married  and  had  a 
feeble-minded  child.  Then  there  were  two  that  died  young  and 
five  that  died  in  infancy.     One  of  these  was  bom  a  cripple. 


148 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


<5a 


CHART   50 


D 


CASE  50.  BENNIE  T.  20  years  old.  Mentality  8.  Has  been  here  7 
years.  American  born;  father  Dutch,  mother  German.  Had  spasms  at 
one  year,  measles  at  five,  diphtheria  at  six.  The  condition  is  supposed  to 
be  due  to  the  diphtheria. 

Bennie  came  when  he  was  12  years  of  age,  had  been  in  public 
school  two  years,  was  beginning  to  count,  read  and  write ;  mem- 
ory was  poor ;  he  was  heedless.  A  year  later  it  was  recorded 
that  he  could  add  very  nicely  when  the  total  of  any  column  was 
less  than  20;  could  subtract  without  borrowing;  knew  how  to 
use  woodwork  tools  but  used  them  poorly ;  was  fair  in  basketry 
work.  English  was  rather  hard  but  he  read  in  the  Second 
Reader.     Two  years  later  when  he  was   fifteen  years  old   he 

had  improved    in 

basketry,      wood- 

\y  work  and  English. 

■JUTE  FROM  rrt 

FRicHT-  Xwo   years  more, 

at  the  age  of 
seventeen,  the  re- 
cord is,  "is  better 
in  woodwork,  very 
little  better  in 
L  b  a  s  k  e  t  r  y ,       1  m- 

proved  in  English 
and  is  now  reading  in  the  Fourth  Reader."  One  year  later,  at  the 
age  of  eighteen,  "  seems  to  be  at  a  standstill  in  basketry  and 
woodwork,  works  very  slowly  and  does  not  improve ;  can  add 
and  subtract  only  simple  combinations;  is  a  barn  boy." 

I  present  a  small  exhibit  of  Bennie's  work,  which  shows  so 
well  what  a  feeble-minded  boy,  of  not  even  the  highest  grade, 
can  do  when  carefully  trained ;  it  will  be  remembered  that 
Bennie  is  only  of  a  mentahty  of  eight,  while  some  of  our  chil- 
dren have  a  mentality  of  11.  By  careful  training,  probably 
largely  thru  a  natural  memory,  he  has  been  able  to  accomphsh 
this  work.     It  must  not  be  thought,  indeed  from  inspection  it 


I  .N  HOLLAND  /  „T  tlUTBANO 


T^-9 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY   8  I49 

"yhxiy  ale/ AuL  --(i^'rn-^J^xfMs. 


ISO 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


wiU  hardly  be  believed,  that  he  is  thoroughly  intelligent  in  re- 
gard to  this;  indeed  to-day  he  has  stopped  school  and  gone  to 
work  on  the  farm  where  he  has  lost  practically  all  of  this.  He  is 
still  able  to  read  and  can  make  very  simple  number  combinations. 


^3JV\\^if\0^. 


Hi— 

TT5 


5 


15 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.      MENTALITY   8  151 

He  can  do  a  good  deal  of  work  and  is  a  good  Institution  helper ; 
is  cheerful  and  willing,  but  it  is  more  than  doubtful  if  his  long 
school  training  and  drilling  in  the  three  R's  has  been  of  any  real 
value  to  him  or  if  he  uses  it  to-day. 


The  family  chart  shows  distinctly  the  hereditary  character  of 
the  defect,  and  is  doubly  interestmg  because  Bennie's  mother, 


152  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

herself  feeble-minded,  was  twice  married,  apparently  both  hus- 
bands being  normal,  and  by  each  of  them  she  had  a  feeble-minded 
child  and  a  normal  child. 

Bennie's  feeble-minded  half-brother  is  apparently  of  some- 
what lower  grade  than  Bennie  himself,  and  yet  he  has  married 
a  girl  of  about  his  own  grade.  An  older  sister  is  an  intelligent 
young  woman,  well  trained  and  holding  a  responsible  position ; 
she  has  no  dealings  with  the  rest  of  her  family. 

Vineland,  N.  J. 

April  1 910. 

Dear  Mother  I  would  write  you  a  letter  hoping  you  are  well 
I  am  well  and  having  a  nice  time  here  these  days. 

How  is  brother getting  along  ?     I  hope  he  will  come 

out  sometime  this  week.     Tell I  thank  her  for  the  pretty 

Easter  card.  We  had  a  very  pleasant  time  here  on  Easter.  We 
had  corlored  eggs  I  helped  with  them.  I  am  trying  to  learn  all  I 
can  in  school  I  would  like  to  see .     With  much  love  to  all  at 

home 

Your  loving  son. 

Write  sooner  next  time. 

Dec.  3.  1909. 
Tomato  Story 

Tomatoes  are  planted  on  the  farm  three  inches  deep  and 
the  tomato  has  big  roots. 

Tomatoes  are  shaped  like  apples.  Some  tomatoes  are  very 
bit  and  large.  Henry  had  a  big  tomato  vine  and  he  had  his  picture 
taken  with  it. 

Each  boy  has  own  garden  and  can  plant  anything  that  he  wants. 
The  things  I  planted  was  counpoupes  and  radishes.  We  caned  a 
good  many  tomatoes  this  summer.  We  rised  most  of  them  on  Mr. 
Dumphy's  farm  by  the  hospital. 

CASE  51.  KARL  U.  20  years  old.  Mentality  8.  Has  been  here  7 
years.  American  born ;  father  American,  mother  Scotch.  Had  measles  at 
the  age  of  5,  and  whooping-cough  at  the  age  of  6.  Has  had  an  abscess  on 
the  eardrum.  Has  a  bad  ear  which  is  incurable  and  he  is  quite  deaf.  Is 
said  to  have  been  covered  with  boils  at  birth. 


HEREDITARY    GROUP.      MENTALITY   8 


153 


CHART    51 


O 


/// 


While  he  is  a  low  grade  moron,  upon  admission  at  the  age  of 
13,  he  knew  the  alphabet,  could  read  a  Httle  ;  had  been  in  pubhc 
school  six  years ;  could  do  an  errand.  He  learns  new  tasks 
very  slowly,  can  now  read  in  the  First  Reader,  writes  a  letter  to  his 
mother  which  is  unintelligible  on  account  of  poor  chirography 
and  spelling ;  has  been  unable  to  learn  knitting,  cannot  take  the 
right  number  of  stitches.  In  outdoor  work  he  does  better; 
works  in  the  dairy  and 
with  the  mason  ;  is  gener- 
ally a  good  boy  if  rightly 
managed  ;  is  cheerful  and 
silent,  sometimes  quarrel- 
some and  stubborn;  is 
active  and  obedient,  affec- 
tionate. 

But  Httle  has  been  determined  in  regard  to  his  family  except 
that  the  father  is  feeble-minded,  has  been  twice  married ;  by  his 
first  wife,  had  a  normal  daughter.  An  older  brother  of  Karl's  is 
immoral  and  alcohoHc,  said  to  be  good  for  nothing.  Probably 
is  feeble-minded  Hke  Karl. 


(N) 


k 


CASE  52.  FRANK  U.  24  years  old.  Mentality  8.  American  born,  of 
American  parents.     Has  been  here  9  years. 

When  he  came,  he  walked  sluggishly.  There  were  twistings 
and  nervous  movements  of  arms  and  legs ;  talked  distinctly,  ate 
heartily,  could  dress  and  undress  himself.  Did  not  play,  did  some 
housework,  washed  dishes;  had  no  sense  of  order  or  cleanliness. 
He  is  of  average  height  and  weight  but  cannot  blow  the 
spirometer.  He  is  sober,  silent,  quarrelsome,  restless,  truthful, 
sensitive  and  moody ;  has  very  bad  habits.  He  is  a  helper  in 
the  care  of  low  grade  children ;  can  read  a  Httle  but  writes 
a  very  poor  letter  as  the  following  note  to  his  sister  wiU 
indicate : 


154 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


Vineld,  NJ. 
April  8 

''Dear  Sister  I  wuld  like  you  to  cane  seee  ne  this 
sumer  day     I  work  in  the  house  and  scrude  the 
floor  I  an  will  and  hing  a  good  tin  in  hear  I 
wont  to  see  Taye  and  annie  to  an  nell  and  uncke 
fhon  and  grand  man  H  am  is  the  boy   Will  you  sed 
ne  a  pictur  fo  boy  as  want  one     with  love  to  all 

your  loving  brother  " 

CHART  52 


□^-o 


D 


<N) 


D 


i5M©saws¥a 


<5hS) 


ItANK  U.     I 

o 


He  can  copy  a  square  but  his  diamond  is  somewhat  doubtful; 
sees  what  is  lacking  in  the  unfinished  pictures,  but  does  not  know 
how  many  fingers  he  has  on  each  hand  or  both  hands.  However, 
he  does  most  of  the  questions  in  the  test  for  8  years  and  for  g 
years.  This  scattering  in  his  answers  over  so  many  years  would 
indicate  either  epilepsy  or  insanity.  He  has  a  good  physique 
and  looks  intelHgent.  He  is  one  of  the  kind  that  certainly  would 
deceive  the  uninitiated. 

The  parents  and  their  three  children  are  all  feeble-minded. 
The  father  was  also  tuberculous  and  had  a  feeble-minded,  alco- 
holic and  tuberculous  brother.     The  rest  of  his  family,  except 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY   8 


155 


one,  are  dead.  Five  died  in  infancy,  one  is  unknown  and  two 
died  of  tuberculosis.  The  paternal  grandmother  is  a  normal 
woman,  but  the  grandfather  was  unknown.  The  father  of  our 
boy  died  of  tuberculosis.  The  mother's  uncle  was  feeble-minded 
and  epileptic. 

This  boy  recently  developed  insanity  and  has  been  removed  to 
an  insane  hospital. 


D 


O 


CHART    W 


D 


O 


a  ^-^     ^"^  ^"^         i.  ^^        I     1         I         d.     DROWNED  ^^ 


CASE  53.  TAMAR  W.  30  years  old.  Mentality  8.  Has  been  here 
15  years. 

Upon  admission  was  about  15  years  of  age,  of  average  size 
and  weight ;  had  hemiplegia  on  the  left  side ;  could  partially 
dress  and  undress  herself;  had  defective  speech.  Could  read 
in  the  Third  Reader,  could  do  errands,  and  wash  dishes.  Tamar 
reads  for  her  own  pleasure  and  that  of.  the  other  children  —  a 
rare  accompHshment  for  a  defective.  She  could  not  do  much 
in  number  work  nor  write  a  composition  although  she  did  write 
a  very  fair  letter;  knows  a  Httle  geography.  Industrially  she 
is  good  help  at  housework;  works  in  the  girls'  dormitory  and 
in  the  laundry.  She  is  sober  and  morose,  somewhat  cranky  and 
quarrelsome,  stubborn  ;  will  obey  if  she  knows  she  must.  Is  not 
truthful  and  is  somewhat  thieving;  rather  sly;  proud  of  her 
pretty  dresses. 


156 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


Tamar  is  one  of  a  family  of  eleven,  most  of  whom  are  dead. 
An  older  sister  is  immoral  and  the  mother  of  a  feeble-minded 
boy.  The  father  of  this  family  died  of  kidney  trouble  at  the 
age  of  52.  Little  is  known  of  his  family  except  that  he  was  one 
of  thirteen  children.  The  mother  was  feeble-minded,  alcoholic 
and  immoral.  She  had  several  brothers  and  sisters  of  whom 
nothing  is  known  except  that  some  are  dead  and  one  brother  is 
alcohoKc.  This  girl  had  a  strong  tendency  toward  immorality 
and  only  by  careful  custodial  care  was  she  saved. 


CHART   SI 


D 


DEBIUTY 
CANCER 


[Nf- 


f-r(§~7>r55o 

NERVOUS    L_J   NERVOUS  d.  4  NERVOU! 


DEBIUTY  "NEVER   I 

CANCER  WALKED" 

N)6    [Nh<^[Nl-f-(N)[N[j]    (ffi~i^i 

•V  DIVORCED     LLll     DEUCATE  NERVOUS  YTTS  ^'*^"'*        TK 

-^  I  [Mj  NEUROTIC /l\ 

ILLEGITIMATE 


i[N](N)iii(t)  \mi  i&ffii  (N)    E  li i b 

^■^   d.  3YRS.  THOMAS  w  ^"^  

k 


GOOD  FOR 
NOTHING 
WONT  WORK" 


CASE  54.  THOMAS  W.  27  years  old.  Mentality  8.  Has  been  here 
2  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  whooping-cough  and 
scarlet  fever  at  four  years.  Has  had  measles  twice.  Condition  is  said  to  be 
congenital. 

Thomas  did  not  talk  nor  walk  until  three  years  of  age.  Speech 
is  imperfect.  He  has  been  in  pubHc  school  two  years  and  private 
school  a  year  and  a  half,  but  made  very  little  progress  ;  has  a  hop- 
ping gait,  but  no  noticeable  body  deformity.  He  keeps  his  mouth 
sHghtly  open.  He  is  much  interested  in  machinery  and  electric- 
ity ;  cannot  read  or  write.  When  excited  or  teased  he  often 
has  a  sort  of  collapse  but  does  not  lose  consciousness.  His 
marked  nervousness  is  his  chief  characteristic  but  he  seems  to 
be  improving  a  little.  He  helps  about  the  school,  sweeps,  dusts, 
makes  beds,  helps  dress  the  little  boys. 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY   8  157 

The  family  chart  is  uncertain  enough  to  be  interesting.  At 
first  glance  the  immediate  family  seems  to  be  entirely  normal, 
but  there  are  some  defective  relatives.  There  are  two  other 
feeble-minded  persons  in  the  family  and  it  is  difficult  not  to  be- 
Heve  that  the  case  is  hereditary.  If  such  is  the  fact,  it  must 
run  back  to  Thomas's  maternal  great-grandfather  or  grand- 
mother ;  of  these  people  we  know  nothing  of  importance.  They 
had  four  children,  one,  the  grandmother  of  Thomas,  was  con- 
sidered normal  but  very  nervous  ;  another  was  alcohoHc,  mental 
condition  undetermined ;  she  was  the  mother  of  a  feeble-minded 
woman  who  was  alcoholic  and  immoral  and  was  in  turn  the 
mother  of  the  third  feeble-minded  person  in  this  line.  It  is  en- 
tirely possible,  and  one  may  say  in  view  of  the  facts,  probable, 
that  the  great  grandfather  or  grandmother  carried  the  defect, 
but  this  was  recessive  and  remained  dormant  until  something 
that  we  cannot  understand  brot  it  to  the  front  in  the  case  of  our 
Thomas.  In  the  other  line  we  might  perhaps  think  that  the 
alcoholic  daughter  of  those  great-grandparents  might  have  been 
the  one  to  accentuate  the  defect  and  bring  it  to  the  surface  a 
generation  earlier;  at  least,  as  said  in  the  beginning,  one  can 
hardly  doubt  that  it  is  an  hereditary  condition  with  which  we 
are  deaHng. 

CASE  55.     FLORENCE  X.     21  years  old.     Mentality  8.     Has  been  here 

8  years.     Parents'  nationality  unknown.     She  had  measles  at  the  age  of 

9  years.     Did  not  talk  until  6  years  old,  could  not  walk  until  11. 

At  time  of  admission  she  could  count  to  nearly  a  hundred; 
knew  color  and  form ;  could  not  be  trusted ;  is  still  going  to 
school,  but  making  Kttle  progress  in  anything  but  industrial 
work ;  does  nice  embroidery,  some  hammered  brass  work ;  does 
nicely  in  ironing ;  has  learned  to  sew  and  do  some  housework ; 
can  tell  time,  count,  make  buttonholes  and  sew  on  buttons; 
is  not  truthful,  is  thieving  and  mischievous.  The  following  is 
her  letter  to  Santa  Claus  at  Christmas  (191 2).     The  penman- 


158 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


ship  is  very  poor  and  irregular  but  can  be  made  out.     The 
rest  speaks  for  itself. 

Vineland  n  J 
Dec,  I*^^  1912 
Dear  Santa  Claus, 

I  thought  I  would  write  you  a  let- 
ter to  tell  you  what  I  would  like  for  chirst- 
mas     Please  bring  me  kinona  and  fairy  wiast 
and  a  bed  slippers  and  a  picturs  for  the  cot- 
tage. 

Fron  your  Loving  friend, 

Florence  X 

Like  many  of  these  cases,  Florence  looks  to  be  much  younger 
than  she  is. 

The  family  tree  shows  a  remarkable  growth  of  defectives. 
The  mother  is  feeble-minded  and  a  prostitute ;    the  father  is 


CHART  55 


li      &— -rO 


»MOS.  9M0S 


ALL  ILLEGITIMATE 


supposed  to  have  been  a  normal  man  who  had  four  normal  chil- 
dren by  another  wife.  The  mother  had  three  feeble-minded 
brothers.  They  were  the  children  of  two  feeble-minded  parents, 
the  father  being  also  alcoholic  although  he  had  two  normal 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY   8 


159 


brothers.  The  mother  was  sexually  immoral.  She  had  two 
feeble-minded  brothers,  one  of  whom  married  and  had  two 
feeble-minded  children.  The  father  of  this  group,  that  is,  the 
maternal  great-grandfather  of  our  child,  was  a  feeble-minded  man 
who  had  a  brother  who  was  also  feeble-minded.  Thus  we  have 
four  generations  of  feeble-mindedness  with  four  cases  of  sexual 
immorality,  besides  bad  physical  conditions  and  other  disturb- 
ances. 

CASE  56.  KING  B.  37  years  old.  Mentality  7.  Has  been  here  24 
years.     American  born ;  nationality  of  parents  not  known. 

King  was  admitted  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  he  came  from  a 
special  Reform  School,  was  nervous  and  gluttonous,  careless, 


Ot-D 

ISTvflFE       I  QUEER 

I  0UA8REI. 


QUAJiRELSOHE 


5 


CHART  56  SEcnoH  i 

o 


^& 


ST  WIFE  BY  2ND  WIFE 


®f 


ILLEGITIMATE 


SECTION  3        y\ 


I  2  """"    *       T    KING  a 


dangerous  with  fire  ;  had  been  in  school  nearly  two  years ;  knew 
the  alphabet  and  ''some  words,  some  days";  could  not  write. 
For  three  years  he  was  tried  in  the  school  department  more  or 
less,  but  with  no  success  ;  now  he  has  settled  down  to  farm  work 
and  has  become  a  good  farmer  under  direction.  He  can  use 
the  team  in  harrowing,  plowing,  hauling  coal  and  similar 
work.     He  is  usually  cheerful,  but  once  or  twice  a  year  gets  a 


i6o 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


grumbling,  unsettled  spell  and  wants  to  leave.  A  trip  to  Phila- 
delphia or  a  similar  privilege  straightens  him  out  for  anothe] 
year. 

CHART    56  SECTION  2 

0-H=h-0 


«T  WIFC 

SEE  SECTION  3  • 


□  —A 1         I         I        I        I 

.         f^\  SEE  SEaiON  I 


r 


CHART  56sEcnoN3 


O-r-n-rO 


6 


2ND  WIFE 
SEE  SECTION  I 
AND  SECTION  Z 


S^ 


b 


Of  late  he  has  taken  a  great  interest  in  two  small  boys,  one  a 
cripple,  and  he  is  almost  a  father  to  them ;  he  carries  the  cripple 
back  and  forth  to  entertainments  and  holds  him  in  his  arms 


HEREDITARY    GROUP.      MENTALITY    7 


161 


CHART    56  SECTION  4 


Q 


f 


1 


Chr-O 


SEE  SECTION  1 
AND  SECTION  2 


SEE  SECTION  3 


lU  I  4N  I  to  I  I 

^V  I  PARALYSIS  I 

(56M 


thruout   the  exercises.     He  more  than  earns  his  living,  under 
direction,  and  is  happy  and  a  good,  useful  Institution  man. 

CASE  57.  HORACE  C.  About  14  years  old.  Mentality  7.  Has  been 
here  7  years.  American  born;  parentage  of  father  unknown,  mother  Amer- 
ican. Has  had  chorea.  Assigned  cause  is  "  neglect,  improper  care  and 
abuse  by  worthless  parents." 

Horace  is  an  interesting  little  fellow ;  he  came  to  us  when 
about  seven  years  old  ;  his  actual  age  could  never  be  determined. 
It  is  said  that  his  parents  fed  him  with  narcotics.  He  was  a 
dehcate  boy,  ate  very  little;  was  obedient  and  had  a  happy 
disposition ;  stammered,  could  not  recognize  color  or  form,  had 
never  been  to  school. 

Since  he  has  made  no  change  of  mentality  in  the  two  years 
that  we  have  used  the  Binet  tests,  it  would  seem  that  he  has  prob- 
ably reached  his  limit.  At  first  he  made  considerable  improve- 
ment in  the  kindergarten  and  it  is  recorded  in  19 10  that  he  had 
improved  in  writing. 

The  following  is  a  sample  of  his  writing  January  26,  1910. 
The  upper    line  is   the   copy   that  was   set   for  him   and   the 


l62 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


other  his  attempt  to  imitate  it.     This  is  typical  feeble-minded 
writing. 


1 


[ly^^flfi/ 


CHART   57  8EcnoM,r 


«    B-r®     Eh-r-O 


[5SS^ 


*  RVRS.  I|        ""^ 


CHART  57  SECTION  a 


O 


6  iS*&         [566   (5nft 

OITIMATt  — ^ 


IU.CCITIMATK 


CASE  66,  KING   B.,   AGE   37. 

CASE  57,  HORACE    C,   AGE    14. 

CASE  59,  DAVID    D.,   AGE   15. 

CASE  61,  BESSIE   I.,   AGE   13. 


MENTALLY  7. 
MENTALLY  7. 
MENTALLY  7. 
MENTALLY   7. 


His  two  brothers. 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY    7  163 

At  present  Horace  does  errands,  polishes  metal,  does  house- 
work, and  goes  to  school ;  is  cheerful,  active,  willing,  good  tem- 
pered, destructive,  rather  mischievous,  a  httle  bashful  and  sly. 
It  is  recorded  that  he  is  thieving,  obstinate  and  stubborn,  quick 
tempered,  excitable. 

Horace  was  sent  to  us  by  the  Children's  Home  Society  and  our 
first  knowledge  of  his  family  came  from  them.  The  following 
is  from  their  report  to  us,  leaving  out  names  and  unessentials. 

*' Father's  name .     Mother's  name .      Two   children 

that  we  know  of,  Horace  about  eleven  years  of  age,  James  died 
in  our  Receiving  Home,  would  now  be  about  nine  years  old. 

They  had  lived  prior  to  that  at .     The  mother  was  brought 

up  near .     Do  not  know  her  maiden  name  but  think  it  was 

.     Her  father  had  the  reputation  of  being  indolent  and  lazy. 

I  remember  hearing  a  story  about  him,  I  do  not  know  whether 
it  is  true  or  not,  that  owing  to  the  poverty  of  the  family,  a  neigh- 
bor had  collected  potatoes  and  other  vegetables  and  drove  up  to 

the home  to  donate  the  same  on  account  of  the  children. 

Mr.  R.  complained  because  the  various  vegetables  had  not  been 
sorted  out,  involving  so  much  labor  on  his  part.  This  may  be  exag- 
gerated but  it  shows  the  type  of  the  family.  On  or  about  the  first 
of  November  1904,  Horace's  father  who  was  a  charcoal  burner 
quarreled  with  his  wife,  a  very  frequent  occurrence,  and,  I  am  in- 
formed, tried  to  kill  her  by  firing  his  shot-gun  at  her  twice.  She 
fled  into  the  woods,  with  a  small  child  in  her  arms,  and  remained 
in  hiding  nearly  all  night.  He,  disappointed  at  not  accomplishing 
his  purpose,  apparently  took  his  bed  out  into  the  back  yard  and 
demolished  it,  and  taking  an  axe  smashed  his  stove  into  small 
pieces. 

You  can  judge  something  of  the  mentality  of  the  man  from 
that  procedure.  Then  he  disappeared,  leaving  Horace  and  Jim- 
mie  at  the  house.     We  never  heard  definitely  of  the  man  again. 

The  woman  came  to with  her  children  and  as  I  was  in  the 

locality  took  charge  of  these  two  boys.     She  kept  the  baby. 


i64  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

The  mother  is  a  very  loose,  careless,  shiftless,  ignorant,  and  im- 
provident woman.  She  told  me  she  had  had  nine  children.  She 
could  not  tell  me  their  ages  or  very  much  about  them.  It  was  a 
common  thing  for  her  to  take  her  smaller  children  and  go  away 
on  long  tramps.  The  children  had  been  very  poorly  nourished 
when  we  received  them." 

We  quoted  this  report  for  two  reasons :  first,  to  show  a 
very  common  type  of  report  of  children  that  find  their  way 
into  the  care  of  these  Societies,  and  second,  to  show  one 
form  of  evidence  on  which  we  come  to  the  conclusion  that  such 
families  are  mentally  defective.  No  one  with  any  experience 
with  defectives  could  doubt  for  an  instant  that  this  was  a  feeble- 
minded family.  However,  our  history  does  not  rely  upon  this 
alone.  We  were  able,  through  the  efforts  of  our  Field  Worker, 
to  establish  these  facts  and  many  more  that  will  be  seen  by  ref- 
erence to  the  family  chart.  It  is  not  necessary  to  go  over  this 
in  detail,  a  glance  shows  the  large  amount  of  sexual  immorahty, 
alcohoHsm  and  criminalistic  tendencies.  Truly  a  terrible  family 
and  one  cannot  refrain  from  asking  the  question,  ''Why  has 
society  allowed  the  parents  of  this  child,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
others  in  this  generation,  to  Hve  a  life  of  debauchery  entirely 
unrestricted?"  We  are  also  fortunately  able  to  reproduce  the 
pictures  of  two  brothers  of  Horace.  Although  photographs  are 
unsafe  guides  one  can  easily  see  the  mental  defect  in  the  faces 
of  these  children. 

CASE  58.  SAM  C.  16  years  old.  Mentality  7.  Has  been  here  4 
years.  American  born,  of  American  parentage.  Has  had  chorea,  whoop- 
ing-cough at  the  age  of  five,  measles  at  six,  asthma.  Assigned  cause,  **  he- 
reditary." 

Sammy  is  an  interesting  case  of  a  high  grade  imbecile  with 
a  good  deal  of  physical  disturbance.  Upon  admission  thiee 
years  ago,  he  could  dress  himself,  but  could  not  read,  write  or 
count ;  knew  color  and  form  ;  attention  was  poor,  imitation  good  ; 
could  do  errands  and  wipe  dishes ;  was  excitable,  laughed  and 


HEREDITARY    GROUP.      MENTALITY    7  165 

cried  without  cause.  He  had  a  teacher  for  four  months  but  soon 
forgot  what  he  had  learned. .  His  career  here  was  marked  in  the 
beginning  by  pecuHar  crazy  spells  at  frequent  intervals,  in  which 
he  would  suddenly  rush  out  screaming  and  crawl  into  some 
narrow,  close  space,  —  probably  under  the  seats  in  the  school 
room  —  and  continue  to  scream.  If  ignored  for  a  while  he  would 
gradually  get  quiet  and  come  out  of  it.  After  some  Kttle  time 
it  was  discovered  that  if  given  food  he  quieted  at  once.  Acting 
upon  this  hint  those  who  had  charge  of  him  began  to  watch  for 
signs  of  this  outbreak  and  by  giving  him  a  piece  of  bread  the 
attack  was  warded  off.  These  spells  diminished  in  frequency 
until  of  late  he  has  had  none. 

CHART  58 


ILLEGITIMATC 


6SS^n-c55SS 


k 

SAMC, 

When  not  having  one  of  these  screaming  spells  he  w^ould 
often  sit  as  if  dazed  much  of  the  time.  Those  dazed  spells 
have  also  gradually  worn  off,  and  he  has  been  improving ;  likes 
to  do  housework  and  does  it  well.  His  whole  disposition  has 
improved  very  greatly  but  physically  he  seems  to  be  on  the 
downward  track.  He  is  in  the  hospital  much  of  the  time  and 
is  developing  curvature  of  the  spine.  He  is  a  pecuhar  child, 
very  quiet  and  rather  cheerful;  pleasant  to  those  whom  he 
knows.  Often  surprises  us  with  an  outburst  of  what  seems  Uke 
childish  wisdom,  showing  considerable  thought,  and  even  reason 
and  good  judgment. 

A  glance  at  the  chart  will  perhaps  offer  some  suggestion  toward 
an  explanation  of  Sam's  pecuHarity.  We  see  that  his  father  is 
feeble-minded  and  his  mother  insane.     It  would  seem  as  though 


i66 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


he  had  inherited  something  of  both  conditions,  for  certainly 
many  of  his  spells  are  much  like  insane  attacks. 

At  least  four  of  this  family  are  in  Institutions  at  pubUc  ex- 
pense. 

Since  the  foregoing  was  written  he  has  shown  more  marked 
symptoms  of  insanity. 


D 


II 


CHART   59 


2ND  HU8BAW0 

COUSINS. 


ik6(^6[i66 


O  l^lillllko  o 


CASE  59.  DAVID  D.  15  years  old.  Mentality  7.  American  born; 
mother  American,  father  unknown.  The  boy  has  been  here  seven  years. 
He  is  partially  paralyzed  and  walks  with  a  limp. 

When  he  came,  it  was  said  that  his  memory  and  attention  were 
good.  He  understood  and  obeyed  a  command,  was  gluttonous, 
fond  of  play  and  obstinate.  Upon  entering  our  school,  he  did 
not  know  colors  by  name,  but  could  match  them ;  played  with 
blocks  and  could  follow  a  line.  He  improved  somewhat  after 
three  years,  and  after  five  years  was  doing  excellent  brass  work ; 
had  improved  in  his  Enghsh,  could  always  count  to  19,  but  some- 
times to  50.  He  is  always  pleasant  and  good  natured,  although 
sometimes  quite  stubborn ;  is  willing  and  tries.  He  is  untruth- 
ful and  is  somewhat  given  to  pilfering ;  is  a  very  good  errand 
boy ;  spends  the  afternoon  in  school,  is  doing  nicely ;  is  usually 
good,  but  sometimes  flies  into  terrible  rages,  throws  anything 
that  he  can  pick  up,  and  swears.     He  is  rather  undersized,  being 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY    7  167 

as  tall  and  heavy  as  about  25%  of  children  of  his  age.  He  can 
repeat  the  days  of  the  week,  but  not  the  months  of  the  year. 
He  cannot  count  three  one-cent  and  three  two-cent  stamps, 
cannot  repeat  five  figures.  When  he  first  came,  he  was  thought 
to  be  very  nearly  normal,  but  he  has  made  no  mental  develop- 
ment since  that  time  and  has  learned  to  do  only  a  few  new  things. 

Both  parents  are  feeble-minded  and  have  been  twice  married. 
Our  boy  has  three  brothers  and  one  sister,  all  feeble-minded. 
The  oldest  brother  died  young.  The  father's  first  wife  was 
normal;  they  had  a  feeble-minded  girl.  The  father  has  two 
sisters  and  a  brother  undetermined.  One  of  these  sisters,  how- 
ever, has  had  a  normal  daughter  and  a  normal  grand-daughter. 

The  mother  has  a  feeble-minded  brother  and  a  sister  who 
died  in  infancy.  They  were  the  children  of  a  feeble-minded 
woman  and  a  man  whose  condition  is  unknown.  Our  boy's 
mother  had  a  second  husband  who  committed  suicide.  They 
had  one  feeble-minded  daughter. 

Of  the  fifteen  feeble-minded  people  in  this  family,  at  least 
three  have  been  in  almshouses  at  pubhc  expense.  The  paternal 
grandparents  were  also  town  charges.  One  man  committed 
suicide  and  another  was  killed. 

David  is  of  the  type  that  would  be  a  truant  and  an  incor- 
rigible were  he  out  in  the  world. 

CASE  60.  KENNETH  E.  39  years  old.  Mentality  7.  Has  been  here 
23  years.  American  born,  of  Irish  parents.  Has  had  measles,  whooping- 
cough,  scarlet  fever,  and  convulsions  during  dentition.  The  latter  is  given 
as  the  cause  of  his  mental  defect. 

Kenneth    is  a   prematurely  old   man   at  chart  eo 

forty,  good  natured,  a  hard  worker  at  what-  Q}- 
ever  he  can  do  ;  talks  distinctly  and  much  ; 
is  sometimes  quick-tempered  but  it  does 
not  last  long ;  does  kitchen  work,  washing 
dishes,  scrubbing,  etc.  His  attendant  re- 
ports  that  he  is  a  good  worker,  doing  his 


DESERTED  HIS 


b 


i68 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


share  of  the  hardest  work;  he  has  occasional  fits  of  temper 
but  they  last  only  for  a  few  minutes ;  his  habits  are  good  and 
we  can  only  say  he  is  a  good,  deserving  boy. 

This  is  another  case  that  came  through  the  Organized  Chari- 
ties and  nothing  can  be  learned  except  what  is  shown  on  the 
chart.  The  mother  is  feeble-minded ;  the  father  deserted  her 
and  the  children. 


CHART  61 


a-K5 


Itl  I    1 Ji 


53S5a 


rf^ 


^*af^ 


UV  <LS          ^  BESSIE  L 


6 


o 


CASE  6i.  BESSIE  I.  13  years  old.  Mentality  7.  Has  been  here  6 
years.  American  born;  father  American,  mother  Swiss.  Has  had  gastro- 
enteritis.    Supposed  cause  of  the  mental  defect  is  malnutrition. 

Bessie  came  here  when  she  was  seven,  had  been  in  public 
school  five  months,  could  not  count,  did  not  know  letters,  memory 
was  poor ;  it  has  not  been  possible  to  teach  her  to  read  or  count, 
she  is  somewhat  trainable  in  basketry,  woodwork  and  sewing; 
of  late  has  developed  symptoms  that  suggest  epilepsy. 

The  family  chart  shows  much  feeble-mindedness  and  some 
insanity. 

Bessie  is  very  attractive  ;  sings  very  nicely.  She  is  still  fairly 
young  and  may  improve  somewhat  under  training. 

CASE  62.  WILFRED  K.  27  years  old.  Mentality  7.  Has  been  here 
7  years.  American  born;  nationality  of  the  father  unknown,  mother  Amer- 
ican. Child  had  whooping-cough  at  the  age  of  three,  measles  at  five  and 
scarlet  fever  at  thirteen. 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY   7 


169 


This  case  is  very  typical  for  his  mental  age.  He  learned 
to  read  a  Httle,  but  never  cared  for  it.  Is  best  in  industrial 
work,  can  do  a  Uttle  club  swinging ;  apt  to  do  very  Httle  inde- 
pendently; helps  in  the  cottage  and  laundry;  works  with 
the  electrician,  gets  along  fairly  well ;  is  very  slow  to  learn  new 
things  ;  is  clean  and  careful,  no  bad  habits  ;  is  very  pohte. 

There  is  a  pecuHar  defect  in  his  nervous  system  ;  he  talks  with 
a  jerky  enunciation,  walks  with  a  jerky  step,  all  his  movements 


CHART   62 


« 

D 


O 


n-T-(N 


■'•  HYSTERU  TUnOR  ""• 

ILLEGITIMATE , , 1 , 1 1 1 


k 


have  that  same  lack  of  smoothness.  He  is  slightly  under  size, 
due  to  short  legs  ;  sitting,  he  is  not  noticeably  below  the  average. 
He  is  very  sober,  almost  morose,  very  diffident.  Unless  one  was 
careful  in  examining  him  he  would  completely  stop  talking; 
if  one  put  the  question  a  Httle  suddenly  or  with  a  Httle  too  much 
emphasis  he  was  thrown  out  completely  and  would  not  answer. 
His  family  history  shows  another  instance  of  a  man  of  good 
family  marrying  into  bad  stock.  The  father,  it  is  true,  was  caUed 
the  black  sheep  of  his  family,  but  he  was  a  degenerate  rather 
than  a  defective.  The  mother  was  feeble-minded  and  a  prostitute 
and  belonged  to  a  low  grade  famih.  We  have  been^  able 
to  trace  a  large  number  of   them  but  could  not  get  intimate 


lyo 


FEEBLE-MIXDEDXESS 


information  enough  to  determine  the  mentahty  of  more  than 
two  or  three ;  these  were  normal.  In  one  case  there  are  seven 
children  cared  for  at  pubHc  expense.  Their  mother  has  died 
and  their  father  is  alcoholic.  All  belonging  to  this  family 
are  degenerate  if  not  defective.  In  the  immediate  family  we 
have  three  generations  of  feeble-mindedness  —  Wilfred,  his 
mother  and  his  maternal  grandmother  and  maternal  great-aunt. 

CASE  63.  WALTER  K.  24  years  old.  Mentality  7.  He  has  been 
here  seven  years.  He  was  recognized  as  defective  at  the  age  of  five,  after 
a  convulsion,  said  to  have  followed  a  fright  by  a  dog.  Has  had  scarlet 
fever  and  pneumonia.  The  cause  of  his  condition,  as  assigned  by  the 
family  physician,  was  "  lesion  of  the  brain,  perhaps  a  tumor." 

This  boy  is  of  average  height  and  weight  but  in  grip  is 
equal  to  only  about  10^   of  normal   children   and  is  a  little 

worse  ia  lung  ca- 
pacity. He  is  un- 
able to  learn  in 
school  and  for  a  long 
time  did  not  talk  at 
all.  He  was  a  ver}^ 
difficult  boy  to  man- 
age when  he  first 
came  to  the  school, 
and  not  until  he 
tried     in     the 


CHART   63 


D 


O 


Q 


[55TOSi 


^ 


UVING  IN  IRELAND 


o© 


MARRIED 

TWICE 

2CH   BY      11 

EACH 


Q^OBO^ 


k 


was     triea     m 

woodworking  room  was  he  induced  to  do  anything.  This  inter- 
ested him  and  he  has  steadily  improved,  until  he  is  able  to  do 
very  good  woodwork.  He  has  also  learned  to  speak  a  few 
words,  tho  not  distinctly,  and  is  now  pleasant  and  happy. 
Besides  his  woodwork,  he  can  do  excellent  mending.  He  is 
rather  cheerful,  silent,  active,  excitable  and  timid,  very  sensitive. 
From  the  chart,  it  will  be  seen  that  both  parents  are  feeble- 
minded, also  the  six  children,  four  boys  and  two  girls;  father 
has  one  feeble-minded  brother ;  four  other  brothers  and  sisters 


HEREDITARY    GROUP.      MENTALITY    7 


171 


are   living  in   Europe.      Mother's  mother  was  feeble-minded; 
mentality  of  mother's  father  could  not  be  determined. 

This  is  an  interesting  family  of  defectives  of  rather  high  grade 
altho  having  a  considerable  number  of  the  stigmata  of  degenera- 
tion. Some  are  deaf ;  all,  on  the  mother's  side,  have  a  peculiar 
diffidence  and  fearfulness.  Apparently  they  all  lack  any  ten- 
dency to  viciousness,  and  some  of  them  are  faithful  workers  at 
manual  work. 


CHART  64  SECTION  i 


^S^'      £^^¥^^¥M^ 


CHART  &4    SECTION  a 


[n]  [n]  [n]  [n]   [g[N] 


YOUNG  CHILDREN 


CASE  64.  GERTIE  K.  12  years  old.  Mentality  7.  Has  been  here 
5  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  marasmus  from  six  to 
nine  months;  measles  and  typhoid  fever  at  the  age  of  three.  Assigned 
cause  ''  maltreatment  and  inherited  weakness  of  mind." 

Gertie  is  in  some  ways  one  of  the  most  interesting  Httle  girls 
we  have  in  the  School.     When  she  came  to  us  at  the  age  of  six 


1 7  2  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

she  had  had  a  year  of  kindergarten  training  and  could  recognize 
color  and  form;  was  nervous  and  excitable.  We  hoped,  for  a 
short  time,  that  she  was  a  merely  backward  child  and  that  we 
might  be  able  to  educate  her.  But  after  four  years,  much  of 
that  time  being  spent  in  the  kindergarten,  she  is  only  able  to 
count  to  one  hundred  and  to  add  and  subtract  easy  combinations. 
She  does  something  in  basketry  and  can  iron  an  apron  without 
help.  Can  write  a  Httle  story.  She  has  probably  reached  her 
limit  in  that  line.  She  is  now  definitely  feeble-minded,  being 
five  years  backward.  She  is  improving  in  sewing,  basketry  and 
woodwork ;  she  is  alert,  active  and  fond  of  play.  She  is  learn- 
ing to  do  housework,  waits  on  table  very  nicely  and  is  in  every 
way  a  most  attractive  child. 

While  we  have  given  up  hope  that  she  will  ever  be  normal,  we 
may  reasonably  expect  that  she  will  increase  in  mentahty  a  Httle, 
how  far  above  her  present  level,  \Ye  cannot  guess. 

Investigation  into  Gertie's  family  history  has  led  us  into  a 
large  problem,  second  only  to  the'KalKkak  family;  we  can  pre- 
sent only  a  httle  of  the  immediate  family  here  and  reserve  the 
rest  for  a  later  monograph. 

Her  father  is  feeble-minded  but  nothing  else  is  known  of  his 
family.  The  mother  is  feeble-minded  and  sexually  immoral, 
having  had  a  number  of  illegitimate  children.  The  first  report 
credited  this  father  with  four  children,  two  of  whom  were  normal, 
but  thorough  investigation  made  it  very  certain  that  the  normal 
ones  were  not  of  the  same  father. 

The  rest  of  the  chart  speaks  for  itself ;  it  will  be  noticed  that 
there  are  a  number  of  sexually  immoral  people,  some  alcoholic 
and  at  least  two  criminalistic.  As  a  matter  of  fact  the  whole 
family,  here  shown,  is  part  of  a  very  large  defective  and  degen- 
erate race  living  in  a  more  or  less  proscribed  region  where  there 
is  very  little  regard  for  the  conventionalities  or  for  law. 

Case  140  belongs  to  the  same  group  and  is  distantly  related 
to  Gertie. 


CASE   60,    KENNETH   E.,   AGE    39.     MENTALLY   7 
CASE    72,    MILLIE  N.,   AGE    35.  MENTALLY    7* 

CASE   64,    GERTIE    K.,    AGE   12.  MENTALLY   7! 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY   7  173 

CASE  65.  PETER  K.  25  years  old.  Mentality  7.  Has  been  here 
three  years. 

A  little  colored  boy  came  to  the  Training  School  at  the  age  of 
ten  years.  He  had  about  the  mental  development  of  a  child 
of  seven  years;  defective  speech.  He  was  reported  to  be  pro- 
fane, passionate,  vulgar,  untruthful  and  a  run-away.  He  im- 
proved steadily,  becoming  interested  in  all  manual  and  indus- 
trial work  and  showed  considerable  ability  along  these  lines.  He 
took  great  delight  in  gardening.  He  was  able  to  take  but  little 
intellectual  training,  but  gave  every  promise  of  becoming  a  good, 
steady,    industrial    worker    under 

,  .    .  CHART  65 

close  supervision 


His   parents  visited    him    from  LJ- 


parents 

tot 

time  to  time  and  seeing  his  im- 
provement  pleaded    to   take    him     [     "''°''" nsx    // 

home,  which  they  finally  did.  IE  /j^jyjMN} 

Nov.  18,  1910,  we  have  the  fol- 
lowing report  from  the  New  Jersey 


NOT  MARHIEDi 


o 


lowmg  report  irom  tne  incw  jersey  r — i       i  c 

State    Prison  — ''Peter    K.    altho         ©  ®  ®     Q 
only  24  years  of  age  is  serving  his  ^"^^ 

third  term  here.     He  was  last  re- 
ceived on  Feb'y-   i4i   iQio  to  serve  a  term  of   i|  years  on  a 
charge  of  breaking,  entering  and  larceny. 

''He  is  in  good  health  and  working  on  the  contract,  but  there 
is  no  doubt  that  he  is  feeble-minded  and  very  mischievous." 

CASE  66.  DORA  M.  20  years  old.  Mentality  7.  Has  been  here  9  years. 
American  born;  father  half  negro,  half  Indian,  mother  of  German  ancestry. 

Dora  attended  pubhc  school  three  years ;  knows  letters  and 
counts  to  a  hundred ;  has  been  fairly  well  trained  in  housework ; 
made  about  the  usual  progress  for  a  child  of  her  grade,  in  reading, 
writing  and  arithmetic,  never  getting  far  enough  to  make  them 
of  any  use  ;  can  sew  and  do  fancy  knitting  ;  irons  well. 

A  glance  at  the  family  chart  shows  the  wretchedly  bad  ancestry 


174 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


of  this  child,  both  morally  and  physically.  It  is  the  kind  of 
ancestry  that  makes  people  generally  say  ''What  can  you  ex- 
pect?    If  the  child  had  had  half  a  chance  she  probably  would 


D 


CHART  66 


J  I      r       ;;;  almshouse   ^ 


KILLED  HinSELF 
IN  DELIRIUM 
TREMENS 


ASx 

a 


>-^         'e  Mos.  .^SfT- 


k 


have  been  all  right."  But 
that  such  is  not  the  case  is 
evident  from  the  fact  that 
she  came  to  the  Training 
School  when  only  eleven 
years  old  and  experience 
proves  that  had  she  had 
the  ability  she  could  have 
been  trained  at  that  age. 
For  the  past  nine  years  she 


has  had  the  best  environment  and  the  best  of  training,  yet  it 
has  been  impossible  to  raise  her  grade.  The  environment,  bad 
as  it  was,  did  not  make  Dora  feeble-minded  ;  it  is  more  probable 
that  the  weak-mindedness  of  her  parents  accounted  for  their 
low  moral  and  physical  condition. 

CASE  67.  DAVID  M.  23  years  old.  Mentality  7.  Has  been  here 
7  years.  Born  in  England,  of  English  parents.  Had  measles  when  one 
year  old  and  whooping-cough  at  seven.  The  cause  of  the  condition  is 
assigned  as  "  fall  with  thickening  of  the  bone." 

This  is  a  pleasant  boy  somewhat  under  size  but  without  marked 
stigmata.  When  admitted  at  the  age  of  15  he  could  not  talk 
well,  understood  but 
could  not  explain.  Was 
trustworthy,  active,  had 
been  in  pubHc  school 
nine  years  but  did  not 
know  his  letters.  Al- 
though persistent  efforts 
were   made,    he    never   "*"""* 

accomplished  much  in  the  book  work.  A  year  after  admission 
the  record  says — ''has  improved  some  in  his  English  although  he 


CHART    67 


ALL  LIVE  IN  ENGLAND 


6ih4i5^^5^ 


k 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY    7  175 

is  a  dreamer  and  gives  very  poor  attention,  does  very  well  in 
number  work."  A  year  later  ''does  not  improve  much  in  Eng- 
lish, forgets  from  one  day  to  the  next  all  he  has  learned,  does 
not  know  combinations  to  ten."  It  has  not  been  possible  to 
train  him  to  do  more  than  wash  windows,  make  beds,  scrub  and 
help  a  Httle  with  the  other  children,  when  carefully  directed. 
He  is  cheerful,  affectionate,  truthful,  rather  sensitive. 

The  heredity  may  possibly  be  considered  a  little  doubtful  in 
this  case.  The  mother  was  clearly  feeble-minded,  was  an  Enghsh 
mill-worker ;  of  her  sibs  nothing  can  be  learned  except  that  one 
died  at  19  from  ''over-exerting  his  brain";  the  others  married 
and  had  children,  one  having  an  idiotic  child. 

David's  mother  had  six  miscarriages,  said  to  have  been  caused 
by  her  ill  health. 

CHART   68 


P-rO 


ALL  LIVE  IN     SCOTLAND 


o 


i^  HAS  NOT  SUPPORTED  d.  Til 

FAMILY  FOR  YEARS  I  |  I 


[5"ffS©¥5SES©0©^ 


00 

BABY 

CASE  68.  ENOCH  M.  21  years  old.  Mentality  7.  Has  been  here 
II  years.  American  born,  of  Scotch  parents.  Had  whooping-cough  at 
the  age  of  four,  serious  spinal  meningitis  at  the  age  of  ten.  "  Fall  in  the 
yard  at  the  age  of  two  "  is  said  to  be  the  cause  of  the  defect. 

Enoch  is  rather  a  sober,  silent  boy  but  wiUing  and  tries,  is 
truthful,  but  very  slow;  never  accompHshed  anything  worth 
while  in  the  three  R's  nor  in  manual  training.  He  does  very 
poorly  in  basketry,  succeeds  somewhat  in  knitting.  At  present 
is  doing  simple  housework,  has  the  reputation  of  being  kind  to 


176 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


the  little  children,  especially  the  cripples,  and  is  a  helper  in  kin- 
dergarten work  ;   inclined  to  be  moody. 

His  mental  defect  was  not  noticed  until  he  was  about  eight 
years  old ;  this  was  two  years  before  he  had  meningitis  so  that 
can  hardly  be  the  cause  and  it  seems  to  be  rather  late  for  the 
supposed  cause  of  "  a  fall  in  the  yard." 

The  family  chart  undoubtedly  shows  the  hereditary  character. 
Enoch's  two  sisters  are  defective ;  six  sibs  died  in  infancy,  there 
are  three  that  are  unknown  and  two  that  are  normal.  The 
mother  is  normal  while  the  father  is  alcoholic  and  feeble-minded. 


CHART    G9 


N 


N 


EF 


<D 


®-^S^^Z^^ 


(N)  '  m  <S© 

TILUE  n. 

(N) 


(5WS3©sr& 


n 

CASE  69.  TILLIE  M.  21  years  old.  Mentality  7.  Has  been  here 
10  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Has  had  measles,  whoop- 
ing-cough and  scarlet  fever. 

Tillie  is  a  typical  high  grade  imbecile,  about  average  size ;  when 
she  came,  at  the  age  of  eleven,  had  never  attended  school ; 
was  obedient,  frank,  active  and  truthful.  Under  training,  she 
accompKshed  Kttle  in  Enghsh;  had  no  conception  of  number, 
could  spell  words  of  three  letters  and  write  words,  sometimes. 
Later  learned  to  count  a  Httle  but  never  got  beyond  the  merest 


HEREDITARY    GROUP.     MENTALITY    7 


177 


rudiments  ;  work  in  wood  and  in  sewing  is  very  poor,  does  better 
in  the  lighter  housework.  She  is  quarrelsome  and  stubborn, 
affectionate,  is  sometimes  willing  and  tries ;  is  generally  easy  to 
manage;    will  probably  make  no  further  advancement. 

Her  mother  is  feeble-minded,  her  father  alcohoHc ;  the  father, 
however,  seems  to  be  of  a  good  family,  as  all  of  the  individuals 
that  we  know  are  normal.  The  mother's  family,  on  the  con- 
trary, seems  bad ;  she  has  a  defective  sister  and  the  rest  of  her 
sibs  are  either  doubtful  or  died  in  infancy ;  the  defective  sister 
married  an  alcoholic  man  and  had  two  feeble-minded  children 
and  the  rest  died  in  infancy,  or  are  undetermined. 


CHART   70 


(§3-T-<^ 


0lN](^(N)       iSil 


I  n 


ii 

NEDN. 


CASE  70.  NED  N.  22  years  old.  Mentality  7.  Has  been  here  7 
years.  American  born,  of  American  parentage.  Condition  attributed  to 
the  mother's  ill  health.  The  birth  was  difficult.  Instruments  were  used. 
The  child  has  had  measles,  had  spasms  at  6  months,  has  had  whooping- 
cough,  had  diphtheria  at  the  age  of  10. 

Ned  is  a  good  looking  boy,  of  regular  features,  wears  glasses, 
is  a  Httle  undersized,  being  about  as  tall  as  25%  of  boys  of  his 
age.  His  hand  grip  is  equivalent  to  that  of  10%  of  boys  of  his 
age.  His  lung  capacity  is  lower  than  any  recorded.  When  ad- 
mitted at  the  age  of  14,  he  could  count  to  eight,  but  did  not  know 
color,  could  do  an  errand,  was  fond  of  play,  trustful  and  truthful. 
A  year  later  it  is  recorded  that  he  had  "improved  splendidly  in 
basketry,"  showing  energy  and  capabihty;   is  beginning  to  im- 


1 78  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

prove  a  little  in  his  English  work ;  speaks  plainer ;  always  obe- 
dient ;  generally  cheerful ;  work  always  well  done  ;  is  generous, 
thoughtful,  most  helpful  with  boys  in  the  cottage,  fond  of  dress, 
neat  and  clean.  A  year  later  the  record  says,  "is  a  faithful, 
earnest  worker,  but  has  no  originality."  Ned  has  always  been 
a  good  and  satisfactory  boy,  has  made  a  good  deal  of  progress 
in  various  ways.  He  can  now,  at  the  age  of  22,  read  in  the 
Second  Reader.  He  is  an  excellent  worker  and  helper  in  the  cot- 
tage ;  in  the  carpenter  shop,  is  reported  as  equal  to  many  regular 
carpenters.  He  is  cheerful,  quiet  and  obedient ;  is  very  wilUng, 
sensitive  and  somewhat  timid  or  retiring ;  does  not  speak  very 
distinctly ;  is  honest  and  truthful,  sometimes  a  little  mischievous. 

The  chart  shows  at  a  glance  the  source  of  the  defect.  His 
father's  family  is  normal,  but  his  mother  is  defective,  and  her 
family  also,  including  her  father,  thus  giving  us  three  generations 
of  defectives. 

Attention  should  be  called  to  the  fact  that  Ned's  father  mar- 
ried twice  and  furthermore  it  was  his  first  wife  that  bore  him  the 
defective  child.  His  second  wife  was  normal  and  gave  him 
three  normal  children.  This  is  significant,  because  it  is  sometimes 
urged  that  defective  children  are  born  when  the  parents  are 
older  and  that  this  is  somehow  connected  with  the  result.  In 
this  case,  it  is  seen  that  the  children  that  were  born  when  the 
father  was  young  were  the  defective  ones,  while  those  born  of 
the  second  wife  when  he  was  older,  are  normal. 

It  is  not  without  interest  to  note  that  Ned'spaternal grandfather 
is  also  the  grandfather  of  Case  229.  Case  229  shows  nothing 
in  the  family  tree  to  warrant  us  in  calling  it  hereditary  feeble- 
mindedness, yet  it  would  be  possible  and  thoroughly  in  accord- 
ance with  Mendehan  law  that  this  grandfather  may  have  car- 
ried the  determiners  for  defectiveness  which  appeared  only  under 
right  conditions,  namely,  in  the  one  case  when  the  father  of  Ned 
married  a  feeble-minded  woman,  in  the  other  case  when  the 
mother  of  Case  229,  who  was  herself  insane,  and  blind,  married, 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.      MENTALITY    7 


179 


for  her  second  husband,  a  man  who  was  alcohoHc.  It  is  at  least 
suggestive  of  what  might  be  perfectly  clear  if  we  knew  the  facts, 
and  it  emphasizes  what  must  always  be  borne  in  mind  that  in 
many  a  family  where  we  are  unable  to  discover  any  feeble-minded- 
ness,  there  may,  nevertheless,  lie  a  recessive  trait  which  only 
comes  out  when  the  right  conditions  are  fulfilled.  Case  229,  in 
other  words,  may  be  typical  of  a  good  many  that  really  are 
hereditary,  although  they  do  not  show  it. 

CHART  71  SECTION  t 


6^5MH-6  6  6  6  6-6  6 

<1.             T            **•                                                                 <!■                                                      CANCER              I  il-  d. 

CANCER  I 


0pS^0®p©SS55S-I-®S 


[n]u      n  [N]®c!](i»^ [ni[n] 


CHART   71  SECTION  2 


Or6  6  6  6    6   6   6 

CANCER  I  I  CANCER                 CANCER               "IS  VHS.                      J 

FOR  CHILDREN  6  6  6 
SEE  SECTION  I 


cjy^Sf^SMSMT"SS52) 


CASE  71.  JENNIE  N.  32  years  old.  Mentality  7.  Has  been  here  15 
years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Has  had  measles,  whooping- 
cough  and  convulsions.  Defect  is  said  to  be  congenital,  supposed  to  be  due 
to  the  condition  of  the  mother. 

Jennie  was  seventeen  years  old  when  admitted,  could  care 
for  herself,  but  not  well;   was  obedient  although  she  did  not 


i8o  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

understand  language  thoroughly;  slow  of  speech;  did  not 
recognize  color  or  form ;  knew  a  few  letters  but  could  not  read ; 
would  start  a  task  and  forget  to  finish  it ;  had  been  in  school  five 
years.  Memory  and  attention  poor;  could  see  and  hear  well; 
excitable  and  nervous;  fond  of  children  and  animals;  had  no 
bad  habits ;  was  active,  truthful,  easily  managed.  Under  train- 
ing she  learned  to  read  and  spell  very  little  and  to  count  up 
to  ten ;  knew  green,  yellow  and  orange  by  sight.  In  industrial 
work  she  learned  to  sew  very  nicely;  could  copy  anything; 
learned  to  sweep  and  clean  in  the  cottage ;  was  never  trouble- 
some; made  an  apron  without  assistance. 

The  family  chart  shows  unmistakably  the  hereditary  taint. 
Jennie  has  two  normal  brothers,  one  undetermined.  There 
have  been  two  miscarriages.  Her  father  is  alcohoHc  and  feeble- 
minded. The  mother  is  normal  but  has  a  feeble-minded  sister 
who  is  epileptic.  On  the  father's  side,  a  sister  and  two  cousins 
are  feeble-minded.  These  are  the  daughters  of  his  mother's 
sister.  One  of  these  has  married  and  has  a  family  of  fourteen 
children  of  whom  six  are  feeble-minded  and  none  are  recorded 
as  normal. 

In  the  case  of  these  cousins  of  the  father,  it  is  true  other  blood 
has  come  in  through  marriage  and  we  know  nothing  of  its  char- 
acter ;  but  the  fact  that  there  is  feeble-mindedness  in  the  father's 
family  would  seem  to  indicate  that  it  is  this  strain  which  is 
carried  through  in  the  collateral  branch  and  it  shows  not  only 
in  the  cousins  of  the  father  but  in  the  next  generation. 

There  are  thirteen  individuals  known  to  be  feeble-minded  as 
against  seventeen  known  to  be  normal.  As  one  looks  at  the  long 
line  of  unknown  sisters  most  of  whom  have  married  and  had 
rather  large  famihes,  one  shudders  at  the  possibiHty  of  the 
transmission  of  the  same  defect  to  their  children. 

We  have  been  unable  to  find  the  descendants  of  these  people. 

CASE  72.  MILLIE  N.  35  years  old.  Mentality  7.  Has  been  here 
20  years. 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.      MENTALITY    7 


181 


Upon  admission  she  was  excitable,  nervous,  obstinate,  rather 
sulky  and  vulgar,  gluttonous,  incKned  to  stray  away,  defective 
in  speech ;  could  dress  and  undress  herself,  knew  a  little  of  the 
alphabet,  but  could  not  read ;   could  count  to  50. 

In  our  school  department,  she  did  not  make  much  prog- 
ress; after  three  years,  can  read  a  few  words  from  a  chart. 
Industrially,  she  has  become  highly  trained,  so  that  now 
she  can  do  all  kinds  of  housework,  including  sewing ;  is  much 
improved   in   disposition;  has   probably  reached   her   limit   in 

CHART  72 

Ch-Q  D-rO 


Q 


APOPLEXY 


• '     ^-^     "^  ^^^  ^-^     DISAP-  d.  .H2    PAR  1^         I 

PEAKED  I  I 


n 


niLUEN. 


<^[N]6  •  ® 


trainabihty;  needs  very  careful  guidance.  She  is  not  at  all 
a  bad  looking  woman,  and  if  unprotected  would  undoubtedly 
pass  for  an  ignorant  but  well  meaning  woman  and  might 
be  accepted  as  a  wife  by  some  one  who  merely  wanted  a 
house-keeper.  That  she  would  become  the  mother  of  defective 
children,  if  any,  is  clear  from  the  family  chart.  She  can  copy 
a  square  but  is  not  always  sure  of  a  diamond,  sometimes  can  copy 
it,  but  other  times  not.  Does  not  always  know  her  right  and 
left  hand.  Her  definitions  are  those  of  a  child  of  six.  She  does 
not  know  how  old  she  is,  knows  the  money  but  cannot  count  the 
stamps.  Knows  colors,  cannot  count  backwards  from  20-1,  nor 
tell  the  difference  between  a  butterfly  and  a  fly,  nor  paper  and  cloth. 
Can  repeat  the  days  of  the  week,  but  not  the  months  of  the  year. 


I«2 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


Both  parents  are  feeble-minded,  the  father  being  also  alco- 
holic. He  has  a  normal  sister.  A  brother  was  insane  but  was 
the  father  of  ii  children,  one  of  whom  was  feeble-minded,  one 
normal,  one  died  in  infancy  and  the  rest  are  unknown.  The 
mother  had  two  feeble-minded  sisters.  One  of  these  had  ten 
children  of  whom  two  were  normal,  one  died  in  infancy;  the 
rest  are  unknown.  Our  girl  has  three  sisters  and  three  brothers 
all  feeble-minded  ;  one  other  sister  died  in  infancy.  One  of  the 
feeble-minded  sisters  married  a  normal  man.  They  have  two 
children,  a  feeble-minded  girl  and  a  boy  undetermined. 

This  seems  to  be  a  family  with  many  peculiarities  which  it  is 
difficult  to  unravel.  Many  of  these  people  can  do  good  work, 
but  are  erratic,  often  drinking,  and  with  manifestations  like 
insanity  and  yet  these  conditions  are  only  temporary  and  per- 
haps are  only  peculiar  forms  of  weak-mindedness. 

CHART  73 

El— r— <S) 


h(3(N)(N)[N 


s 


N 


jfj2_g|^ 


YOUNG  CHILDREN 


i 


CASE  73.  GRACE  N.  9  years  old.  Mentality  7.  Has  been  here  2 
years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  measles  at  four  years 
and  whooping-cough.  Condition  is  said  to  be  congenital  from  the  father's 
alcoholism. 

Grace  is  a  rather  pretty,  attractive  child.  When  admitted  she 
spoke  a  Httle  brokenly,  could  partly  dress  and  undress  herself ; 
could    do  an  errand.     Under   training  she   learned   very  well 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY    7  183 

in  the  kindergarten  and  has  learned  to  do  several  things  that  she 
could  not  do  when  she  came.  Mentally,  she  has  practicaUy  made 
no  change  in  the  two  years. 

Her  Binet  tests  are  interesting  and  are  as  follows : 

Jan.  13,  1911  —  she  tested  6^^* 

July  12,  1911  —  ''  "      6^ 

Oct.  27,  1911  —  ''  "7 

Jan.  6,  1912  —  ''  ^'      7 

Mar.  6,  1912—  '''  ''      f 

July  22,  1912—  "  "      7 

Mar.  20,  1913  —  "  "      6* 

It  will  be  noted  that  at  the  time  of  admission  she  was  about 
seven  years  and  three  months  old,  and  tested  a  Httle  under  seven, 
she  was  therefore,  according  to  our  tests,  not  feeble-minded. 
While  her  feeble-mindedness  did  not  show  according  to  the  test, 
it  nevertheless  had  shown  in  other  ways,  so  that  it  was  thot  that 
the  School  was  the  proper  place  for  her.  It  will  be  further  noted 
that  her  latest  testing  gives  her  precisely  the  same  grade  as  the 
testing  two  years  ago,  and  whereas,  at  that  time  it  made  her 
only  slightly  backward,  it  now  puts  her  more  than  two  years 
backward  and  because  she  has  stood  still  all  this  time  there  is 
probably  no  question  but  that  she  has  reached  her  mental  Hmit, 
and  as  the  years  go  by  she  will  continue  to  show  more  and  more 
backwardness  or  feeble-mindedness. 

The  fluctuations  in  the  mental  age  are  of  interest.  Upon 
examination  of  the  test  sheets,  one  discovers  several  tests  that 
seem  to  be  on  the  border  line ;  she  can  sometimes  do  them  and 
sometimes  she  fails.  If  she  succeeds,  she  reaches  the  highest  point 
of  f'  if  she  fails  on  them  all,  she  falls  back  to  6^  or  6  ; 
sometimes  she  misses  some  and  succeeds  in  others.  T^e  two 
questions  most  variable  are -to  count  thirteen  pennies,  which 
she  can  sometimes  do,  and  at  other  times  not,  and  to  draw 

*  This  means  6  years  and  4  points ;  5  points  would  mean  another  year. 


i84 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


the  diamond,  in  which  she  was  once  successful  and  on  all  other 
occasions  failed.  Apparently  we  have  caught  this  child  almost 
as  soon  as  her  defect  began  to  appear. 

A  glance  at  the  family  history  also  shows  an  interesting  condi- 
tion. The  mother  is  feeble-minded  and  of  a  feeble-minded  fam- 
ily, but  the  father  seems  rather  to  be  a  degenerate  and  probably 
of  a  good  family,  as  his  ancestors,  as  far  back  as  we  can  trace 
them,  seem  to  be  entirely  normal.  Of  the  hereditary  character 
of  the  defect  in  the  mother's  family,  there  can  be  no  doubt. 

This  is  a  very  interesting  illustration  of  what  we  have  found 
in  other  cases  where  frequently  children  do  not  show  their  defect 
until  seven,  eight,  nine  or  ten  years  of  age,  and  from  all  ap- 
pearances they  seem  to  be  normal  up  to  that  time.  This, 
again,  accounts  for  the  fact  that  in  some  cases  the  children  of 
two  defectives  appear  normal  while  young,  but  show  the  defect 
as  they  grow  older. 


CHART    74 


D 


o 


i5B~5h& 


D 


d 


<3 


(S®S^ 


i5^^®S 


nil  riTTn 

ALL  DIED  UNDER  3  1-2  YRS, 


li^^Hi'^l^ 


CASE  74.  KONRAD  N.  i8  years  old.  Mentality  7.  Has  been  here 
4  years.     American  born;  father  German,  mother  American. 

Konrad  is  a  Uvely,  cheerful  boy  of  the  high  imbecile  grade ; 
full  of  fun,  enjoys  play,  a  wilUng  worker ;  gives  no  trouble  any- 
where and  always  does  his  best,  which  is  of  course  not  very  effi- 
cient. He  had  attended  public  school  four  or  five  years  before 
he  came  to  the  Training  School  and  had  become  able  to  read  in 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY    7  185 

the  First  Reader ;  can  count  to  thirty ;  can  add  a  little ;  at- 
tention is  good,  imitation  poor.  He  is  improving,  but  only  along 
the  line  of  industrial  work ;  has  undoubtedly  reached  his  Hmit 
in  the  reading  and  other  book  work;  is  improving  in  woodwork 
and  basketry,  can  do  nice  ironing  in  the  laundry  and  is  a  very 
good  waiter  boy ;  is  a  httle  under  size  but  not  markedly  defec- 
tive physically,  though  there  are  some  stigmata  when  one  looks 
more  closely. 

He  does  not  always  know  his  right  hand,  cannot  count 
13  pennies,  can  copy  the  square  but  not  the  diamond;  re- 
peats the  days  of  the  week  but  not  the  months  of  the  year ; 
cannot  repeat  five  figures  nor  name  the  four  colors. 

The  chart  of  this  family  repays  careful  study,  it  reveals  re- 
markable things.  The  boy  is  the  oldest  of  eight  children,  all  of 
whom  are  feeble-minded.  There  have  been  three  miscarriages, 
one  accidental,  two  the  result  of  drugs.  The  mother  is  feeble- 
minded and  alcohoHc ;  she  has  a  brother  wha  is  feeble-minded 
and  a  normal  brother  and  sister  who  hive  normal  chil- 
dren;  their  parents  are  alcohoHc.  The  father  is  perhaps  a 
normal  man,  he  has  a  half-brother  who  is  feeble-minded,  which 
is  the  only  thing  that  casts  doubt  upon  the  father's  normaUty 
unless  indeed  we  take  his  alcoholism  as  indicating  defect.  The 
father  was  twice  married,  his  first  wife  was  a  normal  woman  and 
they  had  normal  children  and  a  great  many  who  died  in  infancy. 
This  father  lacks  some  joints  in  his  fingers  and  toes.  His 
first  family  of  children  show  nothing  of  this ;  the  second  family 
of  children  all  show  this  defect. 

CASE  75  MYRTLE  N.  26  years  old.  Mentality  7-  Has  been  here 
II  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  convulsions  at  two 
years,  has  had  chorea,  had  whooping-cough  at  the  age  of  seven. 

Myrtle  came  to  us  at  the  age  of  15  ;  her  speech  was  im- 
perfect, she  could  read  very  Httle  and  could  not  recogmze 
color  nor  form.  In  addition  to  this  she  had  very  bad  habits, 
morally,  and  was  a  very  disagreeable  and  difficult  girl  to  get 


i86 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


along  with.  She  was  sober,  silent  and  morose,  quarrelsome,  thiev- 
ing, untruthful,  excitable  and  sly.  Much  effort  was  exerted 
to  train  her  into  better  habits  and  a  better  disposition.  She 
improved  very  remarkably  in  her  abiUty ;  became  able  to  read, 
and  to  write  a  very  good  narrative.  Industrially,  she  learned 
to  do  good  fancy  work  and  to  do  her  housework  very  well,  and 
is  to-day  an  excellent  worker  in  the  cottage  with  the  children. 
But  nothing  affected  her  morals  and  her  disposition  until  she  was 
given  a  small  child  to  care  for.  Her  mother  instinct,  thus  aroused, 
was  made  the  lever  by  which  she  was  forced  to  give  up  her  bad 
habits.     When  she  was  told  firmly,  that  at  the  first  outcrop  of 


CHART  75 


(N)(N)(N)[il[N](N)^^^-iN][!][^ 


a 


D   m 


MM  M 


any  of  her  old  temper  and  bad  habits,  this  child  would  be  taken 
from  her  and  given  to  someone  else  to  care  for,  the  result  was  a 
remarkable  transformation  of  character.  And  altho  the  child 
lived  only  a  couple  of  years,  Myrtle  has  never  fully  gone  back  to 
her  earlier  condition.  To-day,  while  not  entirely  satisfactory 
in  disposition,  yet  she  is  a  fairly  useful  Institution  worker. 
She  is  not  always  cheerful,  but  is  generally  so.  Rather  good- 
tempered  but  still  somewhat  thieving  and  untruthful ;  has  long 
since  reached  her  highest  development  and  will  undoubtedly 
remain  in  her  present  condition  for  some  years. 

The  family  chart  shows  a  large  proportion  of  defectives.     It 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY    7 


187 


is  probable  that  her  four  sibs  are  all  defective  like  herself  altho 
some  are  brighter  than  others.  The  mother  is  defective  and 
the  mother's  sibs  are  questionable.  The  father  himself  is  ques- 
tionably normal  with  the  probabiHty  strong  that  he  is  not  quite 
bright. 

After  a  look  at  the  chart  we  find  several  others  that  are 
questionably  normal.  This  means  that  if  they  are  to  be  con- 
sidered normal  at  all,  they  are  still  of  low  grade  and  rather  poor 
representatives  of  the  race.  On  the  other  hand  certain  branches 
of  the  family  seem  to  be  fairly  normal  and  reasonably  satisfactory 
people. 

A  careful  study  of  her  character  shows  that  ^Myrtle  is  exactly 
the  type  of  girl  that  is  making  so  much  trouble  for  our  social 
workers.  If  she  were  at  large  in  the  community  she  would  be 
making  trouble  and  we  should  be  wondering  what  is  the  matter 
with  her. 

CHART  76  _ 


AT 

D 


<? 


B  A 

m 


(55^?^ 


^rr  ^"^    vW.'r  iTt         cannot  talk        crippu 

'  Va>/  WIFE  OR  WALK  WELL 


T — r 


65S 


li 


k 


CASE  76.  MOLLIE  N.  24  years  old.  Mentality  7.  Been  here  13 
years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  measles  at  the  age  of 
seven.  Mollie  was  a  sickly  baby,  weighed  two  and  a  half  pounds  at  birth ; 
has  imperfect  speech,  is  under  size,  has  vacant  looking  eyes,  mouth  protrud- 
ing and  open,  always  twitching. 

Upon  admission  at  the  age  of  eleven,  could  not  read,  did  not 


1 88  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

know  her  letters,  could  count  to  ten,  attention  poor ;  had  been 
at  school  for  four  years  with  no  effect ;  had  bad  habits.  She  made 
a  little  progress  in  our  school,  learned  to  write  and  print,  and  to 
write  numbers  up  to  ten ;  can  make  beds  and  sweep  a  Kttle,  can 
dress  and  undress  herself ;  has  long  since  reached  her  Kmit  of  im- 
provement and  trainability. 

The  family  chart  shows  a  generally  low  grade  family.  MolHe 
is  the  only  Kving  child,  the  others  dying  in  infancy.  Whether 
there  was  mental  defect  of  so  low  a  grade  as  to  constitute  feeble- 
mindedness in  the  father's  family  is  hard  to  say ;  he  married  for 
his  second  wife  a  woman  of  questionable  mentahty  and  had  two 
children  who  are  doubtfully  normal.  A  nephew  of  his  was  un- 
doubtedly feeble-minded,  died  at  seven  years  and  could  never 
walk  nor  talk.  The  supposed  cause  was  injury  to  the  mother. 
That  may  be  the  cause  or  it  may  be  hereditary ;  we  have  no 
means  of  deciding. 

On  the  mother's  side  will  be  noted  an  unusual  amount  of 
tuberculosis.  The  maternal  grandmother  was  probably  defec- 
tive but  the  proof  is  not  quite  sufficient  to  mark  her  that  way. 
She  had  four  feeble-minded  children  and  three  that  died  in  in- 
fancy, another  one  is  questionably  normal.  Of  the  mother's 
three  feeble-minded  brothers  none  can  walk  or  talk  well. 

CASE  77.  BERTHA  N.  15  years  old.  Mentality  7.  Has  been  here 
9  years.     American  born,  of  American  parents. 

Bertha  is  ataxic ;  this  extends  to  her  walking  and  the  genera] 
control  of  her  muscles.  This  naturally  interferes  greatly  with 
her  abihty  to  do  things  and  express  herself.  She  has  great  per- 
sistence, which  is  rather  characteristic  of  this  type,  so  that  she  is 
gradually  overcoming  a  great  deal  of  her  lack  of  control  of  move- 
ment. She  is  very  attentive  and  quick  to  grasp  ideas  read 
to  her;  can  count  a  Httle ;  can  write  a  well  worded  letter, 
although  of  course  the  chirography  is  bad ;  her  spelHng  is 
fair.     She  can  use  a  plane  and  saw  with  considerable  success 


CASE    73,    GRACE    N.,    AGE   9.  MENTALLY   7. 

CASE   76,    MOLLIE   N.,  AGE   24.         MENTALLY   7. 
CASE   78,   HOWARD    O.,   AGE   21.     MENTALLY   7. 


HEREDITARY    GROUP.      MENTALITY    7 

CHART  77 


189 


mr 


O 


(N)(N)(N)6lNl-T-®  D 


o 


(N)(N)[N][g[Nl-Ij-(N)|Nl[N][j](N)(i 


i    [N|(^    i      i      1    ^(n) 


BERTHA  N 


k 

and  sews  fairly  well.  Although  all  of  this  is  very  awkwardly  done 
from  the  standpoint  of  a  normal  person,  for  Bertha,  it  is  a  great 
encouragement  to  find. that  she  can  do  these  things.  She  is  a 
very  faithful  worker  around  the  cottage  with  anything  that 
comes  within  her  possibihties. 

There  is  very  clearly  a  weakness  in  the  family,  both  nervous 
and  mental.  It  would  seem  to  be  a  case  where  there  is  in  the 
family  of  the  father  a  mental  defect  which  has  lain  dormant  for  a 
couple  of  generations  but  which  reappears,  possibly  as  the  result 
of  the  father's  marrying  into  a  family  that  is  weak  nervously. 

CASE  78.  HOWARD  O.  21  years  old.  Mentality  7.  Has  been  here 
7  years.  American  born,  of  German  parents.  Had  whooping-cough  at 
the  age  of  six  years;   has  had  sore  eyes. 

Howard  is  an  interesting  example  of  a  boy  who  would  be 
taken  as  normal  by  many  persons  who  saw  him  at  his  work.  He 
has  a  reticence  in  speech  which  protects  him  wonderfully.  He 
keeps  silent  and  looks  wise.  It  is  practically  impossible  for  him 
to  learn  anything  of  the  usual  school  work.  Even  after  three 
years  here,  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  he  knew  but  a  few  number 
combinations  with  the  aid  of  objects  only ;  copied  poorly ;  had 
very  Uttle  idea  of  form.     In  common  with  most  defectives  he 


1 90 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


CHART  78 


D 


O 


p-rO 


^^66[Nhr<^60 


r5b[K! 


likes  to  be  noticed,  altho  perhaps  this  is  a  little  stronger  in 
him  than  in  others.  He  works  well  at  whatever  he  undertakes,  as 
long  as  the  novelty  of  it  gets  him  a  good  deal  of  attention  and 
praise. 

For  example,  in  1907,  he  was  errand  boy  for  about  six  months 
and  when  the  novelty  wore  off  he  was  of  little  use  in  this  capacity ; 
he  would  stop  and  talk  instead  of  doing  his  errands.  In  191 1 
again  he  was  made  a  very  special  errand  boy  with  a  uniform  and 
was  also  a  phone  boy,  managing  the  switchboard,  etc.  This 
flattered  him  greatly  and  he  was  a  great  success  for  some  time. 
In  191 2,  however,  he  had  to  be  discharged  from  this  because 
again  he  began  to  talk  and  loiter  at  the  work ;  since  then  he  has 
been  with  the  electrician  and  doing  outside  work  and  probably 
he  will  have  the  same  experience  there. 

He  is  inclined  to  be  sober  and  silent,  and  sometimes  stubborn. 
He  is  honest  but  forgetful.  His  left  leg  is  quite  a  little  shorter 
than  the  right,  probably  a  congenital  condition.  This  gives 
him  an  unsymmetrical  attitude. 

The  family  chart  shows  at  a  glance  the  hereditary  character 
of  his  mental  defect ;  it  is  noted  that  two  of  his  sibs  are  in  other 
Institutions  at  public  expense.  From  the  number  of  defective 
children  it  would  seem  probable  that  the  father  as  well  as  the 
mother  was  feeble-minded. 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY    7 

CHAKT  79 


191 


O 


n-r-55n& 


*  /                                               I                  THE  BRAIN" 

I        *  4YRS.  L— J                                                                                                                                «  3  VBS. 
DORAQ. 

b  1^  i  6  (N)  [N]  @  [!]  ti  ti 


CASE  79.  DORA  O.  15  years  old.  Mentality  7.  Has  been  here 
4  years.     Birthplace  unknown,  nationality  of  parents  unknown. 

This  is  a  high  grade  child  of  the  type  very  commonly  seen  on 
the  street  among  the  poorer  classes.  When  admitted,  she  talked 
distinctly  and  much ;  poor  memory ;  could  sweep  and  dust  and 
help  around  the  house ;  has  improved  a  Httle  under  training  but 
it  is  very  slow ;  can  write  a  few  words  very  illegibly ;  needs  con- 
stant watching ;  has  learned  to  do  some  simple  sewing ;  can  do 
practically  nothing  in  school  work;  has  improved  in  basketry 
and  some  in  sewing ;  has  a  violent  temper  and  when  she  gives 
way  to  it,  scratches  and  swears. 

As  will  be  seen  from  the  chart,  this  is  a  very  bad  family. 
Wherever  anything  is  known  of  its  members,  they  are  as  a  rule 
defective,  very  few  normal  people  having  been  found.  The 
father  and  mother  are  both  feeble-minded.  The  father  is  sex- 
ually immoral  and  is  serving  a  ten  years'  sentence  in  States  Prison 
for  carnal  abuse  of  this  child.  His  parents  are  undetermined  but 
his  maternal  grandfather  was  called  "crazy,"  or  "always  a  Httle 
off  "  —  probably  feeble-nunded.     A  sister  of  this  child's  mother 


192 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


had  a  feeble-minded  daughter  who  in  turn  had  a  family  of  ten 
children,  of  whom  at  least  three  are  feeble-minded.  Another 
sister  is  a  moron  and  has'at  least  one  feeble-minded  child.  None 
are  normal.  A  brother  was  normal,  but  married  a  feeble-minded 
woman  and  had  at  least  two  feeble-minded  children.  It  is  very 
evident  that  the  defect  runs  through  the  family  and  there  would 
be  many  more  black  marks  if  more  facts  could  be  learned. 


CHART   80 


6d-T^h 


D-K5fl 


o 


ISx     ISx 


5M^i-^. 


IU.EG         I  H.LCO 


2U  20      ILuU  ..?W„ 


I     '     lE'  I  I  Sxl    SxiT  J_  J^      IB 


CASE  80.  WILLIE  S.  32  years  old.  Mentality  7.  Has  been  here 
15  years.  American  born,  of  American  parentage.  He  has  had  measles, 
mumps,  whooping-cough,  diphtheria  and  tonsillitis ;  has  never  been  ill  since 
he  has  been  here. 

When  he  came,  had  been  at  school  6  or  7  years,  was  below  aver- 
age in  size  and  weight,  could  wash  and  dress  himself  ;  understood 
a  command ;  knew  the  alphabet  but  could  not  read ;  wrote  a 
few  words ;  was  fond  of  horses,  could  harness  and  drive  them. 
Parents  expected  him  to  become  self-supporting.  He  was  placed 
in  the  school  department  and  after  a  year  could  print  his  first 
name  from  memory  and  his  last  name  from  copy.  Two  years  later 
it  was  reported  that  he  made  no  improvement.  Was  called  a 
*Mon't  care  "  boy ;  could  read  the  first  page  on  a  chart  and  count 
to  20 ;  could  write  his  name  from  memory ;  knew  color  and  form. 


HEREDITARY    GROUP.      MENTALITY    7  193 

He  is,  at  present,  a  good  Institution  helper,  does  housework 
and  laundry  work  quite  satisfactorily,  under  direction.  He  is 
generally  cheerful,  rather  silent,  sometimes  quarrelsome  and 
stubborn,  but  usually  obedient;    willing  and  tries;    is  slow. 

He  can  copy  a  square  but  not  a  diamond.     He  cannot  count 

13  pennies  nor  show  his  right  hand  nor  left  ear ;  can  repeat  the 
days  of  the  week,  but  not  the  months  of  the  year ;  defines  by 
use ;  cannot  count  three  one-cent  and  three  two-cent  stamps ; 
can  remember  only  four  figures. 

His  chart  shows  both  parents  feeble-minded,  father  alco- 
hoHc,  mother  tuberculous,  and  blind  or  at  least  approaching 
it.  This  is  a  very  mixed  family.  Some  of  the  children  are  de- 
cidedly defective,  one  is  epileptic ;  another  one  is  relatively  quite 
bright.  The  father's  uncle  was  feeble-minded  and  epileptic. 
He  had  also  a  nephew  that  was  feeble-minded.  Of  the  rest,  httle 
can  be  found.  The  mother  had  a  large  number  of  feeble-minded 
brothers  and  sisters.  They  suffered  from  tuberculosis  and  there 
is  a  good  deal  of  blindness  in  the  family,  even  for  three  genera- 
tions back.  There  is  also  a  good  deal  of  sexual  perversity,  nearly 
all  of  these  people  having  borne  or  begotten  children  out  of 
wedlock.  The  mental  condition  |of  these  defectives  variei  all 
the  way  from  very  low  grade,  well  marked  idiots  up  to  high 
grade  morons  and  border  fine  cases. 

CASE  81.     FRANCES  T.     27  years  old.     Mentality  7.     Has  been  here 

14  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Assigned  cause  "  menin- 
gitis," which  she  had  at  the  age  of  six  months.  The  child  also  had  convul- 
sions at  the  same  time.  Has  had  measles,  whooping-cough,  scarlet  fever 
and  bronchitis. 

Frances  is  a  very  good  girl  of  medium  intelligence  altho  the 
teachers  say  it  would  take  her  months  to  memorize  four  lines. 
She  is  cheerful,  affectionate,  obedient ;  wilhng  and  tries,  truth- 
ful. The  limit  of  her  abiHty  in  reading  and  counting  is  the 
abihty  to  read  "the  apple"  in  the  primer,  to  count  to  ten  and  to 
add  by  twos ;  in  manual  training  she  is  not  very  good,  she  spoils 


194  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

CHART  81 

D-rO 


[5"5Tr&-r^    6  ti  tj   6 


®  <S5Wi  (5SI^S3-r-6oB- 


a  great  many  pieces.  She  embroiders  very  well  and  is  fond  of 
sewing,  does  something  at  this ;  knits  very  well.  She  is  a  very 
slow  worker^  but  tries  hard ;  does  housework  and  waits  upon 
the  table,  tho  poorly. 

There  seems  to  be  no  doubt  about  the  hereditary  character 
of  the  defect,  even  though  her  father  and  mother  are  undeter- 
mined ;  there  are  enough  others  in  the  family  who  are  known  to 
be  defective  to  show  that  it  is  in  the  blood. 

Her  father  was  alcoholic  and  tuberculous,  said  to  have  been 
gay  and  fond  of  fast  horses  and  women. 

CASE  82.  GARDA  T.  29  years  old.  Mentality  7.  Has  been  here 
10  years.     American  born;  nationality  of  parents  unknown. 

Garda  has  rather  a  pleasant  face  and  good  physique  ;  has  been 
somewhat  trained  ;  is  an  industrial  helper ;  works  in  the  cottage 
and  laundry.  She  cannot  do  school  work  at  all,  but  does  good 
laundry  work  and  cares  for  the  more  helpless  children.  She  has 
fair  memory,  good  imitation,  laughs  and  cries  without  cause; 
is  heedless  of  danger,  active,  obstinate  and  passionate,  destruc- 
tive and  selfish. 

The  chart  shows  an  unusually  bad  family,  a  large  proportion 
of  them  are  distinctly  feeble-minded  and  a  number  of  others  are 


HEREDITARY    GROUP.     MENTALITY    7 

CHART   82  SECTION  I 

nh-o 

CANCEK 

THE  FATHER'S  FAHaV 


195 


liOdt^    ?  S  ^ 


FAHILY  AND 

DESCENDANTS, 
SEE  NEXT 
SECTION 


a  a         ^^  ^^  J      -^         2  *■  >|3|  <1<  CAUDA  T. 

I  lULEtt    >  'kl-EG  *•  k 


THE  FATHER'S  FAMILY 


[S[S¥516 


CHART    82  SECTION  2 


iS'b-r6OTSSdD=T=6 


CHUBREN  "^  I  *— '  RAILRO, 

SEE  SECnON  I  J^H      aN 


MOTHER'S  FAMILY 


r— I     //       ^^       3  SEEMS, 

[n]-j-^ 

doubtful,  but  with  a  strong  probability  of  defect.  There  is  some 
epilepsy,  some  insanity,  some  criminality  and  some  alcoholism 
in  the  family.  There  are  fotty-five  people  represented  on  this 
chart,  who  are  feeble-minded,  and  even  this  appalling  number 
would  be  somewhat  increased  if  we  included  some  doubtful  ones ; 
a  number  of  these  are,  or  have  been,  in  public  Institutions  at 
public  expense. 


1 96  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

CASE  83.  DAVID  AND  NANCY  X.  David  is  31  years  old.  Mentality 
6.  Nancy  29  years  old.  IMentality  6.  Have  been  here  19  and  20  years 
respectively.     American  born  and  of  American  parentage. 

Of  David  it  is  recorded  when  he  entered  the  institution: 
''Can  dress  and  undress  himself;  speech  is  slow;  knows  color; 
attention  poor,  imitation  poor ;  does  some  housework ;  is  indo- 
lent, untruthful  and  destructive,  cannot  read  nor  write,  has  been 
considered  insane,  has  been  in  school  four  or  five  years  with  no 
improvement."  After  admission,  he  constantly  improved.  At 
one  time,  he  was  making  the  most  progress  of  any  boy  in  his 

group ;     gradually   grew    less   stubborn 
^  and  became  helpful  in  dormitory  and 

-Q  kitchen. 

At   present,    can    sweep    and    scrub, 
P — I — -j — -T  polish   shoes,   saw  wood,   dig   dirt,  cut 

Q  O  O  B  grass  and  do  things  that  require  only  a 

h     h  '  little  judgment ;  can  write  a  letter,  but 

DAVID  t  NANCY  X.  •        •        1  11  11         1  i    1  11  1 

it  IS  badly  spelled  and  badly  constructed  ; 
is  cheerful,  sober,  silent,  stubborn,  quiet,  obedient,  willing  and 
tries,  truthful  and  slow,  quick-tempered. 

Nancy,  upon  admission,  could  neither  read,  write  nor  count. 
Recognized  color  and  form,  was  fond  of  music.  Memory  was 
poor  and  attention  fair.  She  could  do  some  housework,  was 
excitable,  nervous  and  inclined  to  be  indolent.  In  the  school 
department  her  progress  was  slow.  In  one  year,  she  had  learned 
only  to  write  A  and  print  A,  H,  Y  from  memory.  Five  years 
after  admission,  she  knew  the  alphabet  and  could  get  correct 
answers  to  mental  arithmetic,  when  she  had  the  objects  before  her. 
At  present  she  can  write  about  the  same  kind  of  letter  as  her 
brother;  gets  along  well  with  the  girls;  does  very  good  house 
work;  is  at  times  cheerful,  sober,  silent,  cranky,  quarrelsome, 
stubborn,  active,  quiet  and  obedient,  obstinate,  wilHng  and  tries, 
truthful,  slow,  quick-tempered,  thieving,  excitable  ;  has  bad  habits. 

But  Httle  is  known,  or  could  be  found  out,  about  the  family, 


CASE    83,    DAVID    X.,    AGE   31.  MENTALLY   6. 

CASE   83,   NANCY    X.,   AGE   29.         MENTALLY   6. 
CASE   85,   HERMAN    C,   AGE   28.     MENTALLY   6. 


HEREDITARY    GROUP.      MENTALITY   6 


197 


but  what  there  is,  is  all  bad.  The  father  and  mother  were  both 
feeble-minded.  A  sister,  feeble-minded,  is  in  the  State  Home 
for  Women.  A  younger  brother  is  said  to  have  been  killed  on 
the  railroad.  The  father  was  a  cripple  who  made  and  sold  shoe 
strings,  on  the  street,  for  a  living.  They  lived  in  an  upstairs  back- 
room in  a  Httle  house  on  an  alley  in  Philadelphia.  The  girl,  who 
is  now  at  the  State  Home,  was  taken  into  a  farmer's  family  where 
she  did  very  well  until  they  moved  to  the  city  and  opened  a  milk- 
shop.  It  was  impossible  for  her  to  make  change  for  a  pint  of 
milk ;  besides  the  family  feared  for  the  child  as  she  matured,  so 
she  was  sent  to  the  State  Home. 


CHART  84 


N 


-(n)  M  -°p  q 


„;>r^DIVORCI 


DIVORCED 
I  FROM 
FROM 
HUSBAND. 


[NJ[^(N)     ©on    MM(k 


EDDIE  B. 

k 


®ftl(5 


CASE  84.     EDDIE  B.     13  years  old.     Mentality  6.     Has  been  here  3 
years.     American  born,  of  American  parents.     Had  measles  at  the  age  of 


Eddie  is  an  ataxic  case  and  has  very  poor  control  of  his  limbs 
and  speech  organs;  has  made  considerable  progress  since  ad- 
mission and  can  get  around  better ;  can  even  weave  a  mat  and 
sew  cards. 

He  is  cheerful,  active  and  obedient,  very  affectionate,  rather 
excitable,  very  sensitive ;  tries  hard  to  talk  but  the  ataxia  ex- 
tends to  his  vocal  organs  and  he  cannot  be  understood. 

The  family  chart  shows  the  hereditary  character  of  the  defect. 
The  maternal  grandmother  was  feeble-minded  and  it  is  clear  that 


198  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

this  has  been  transmitted  thru  the  mother  to  our  boy  and  his 
older  brother.  It  might  be  urged  that  the  syphiKs  of  the  father 
was  the  cause  of  the  defect,  but  how  then  shall  we  account  for 
the  two  normal  children,  one  of  them  being  Eddie's  twin  ? 

This  situation  of  twins,  the  one  normal  the  other  feeble- 
minded, is  hardly  to  be  explained  on  any  other  basis  than  hered- 
ity. The  syphiHs  of  the  father  would  most  certainly  act  upon 
both  aHke. 

There  is  nothing  else  to  be  noted  in  the  family,  except  perhaps 
the  very  frequent  number  of  divorces  and  separations  which  may 
be  significant  in  themselves. 


CHART    85 


^k535 


^*^  A»n»irTV  fiinrmp 


^"-^  BCRMANC.  <L  YOUNG  DELICAT 


k 

CASE  85.  HERMAN  C.  28  years  old.  Mentality  6.  Has  been  here 
20  years.  American  born,  of  American  parentage.  Has  had  catarrh  and 
tonsillitis.  Assigned  cause  "  unfavorable  environment,  gross  neglect  from 
birth." 

Herman  came,  at  the  age  of  eight,  from  a  boys'  lodging  house 
of  the  S.P.C.C.  He  soon  took  an  interest  in  the  more  helpless 
children  and  assisted  them  up  and  down  stairs  and  when  out 
walking.  He  never  succeeded  in  doing  anything  with  the  three 
R's,  and  must  have  constant  review  to  remember  what  he  learns. 
When  he  was  fifteen,  it  is  recorded  he  would  shovel  coal  well 
when  watched,  otherwise  would  shirk  it.  He  now  works  at  the 
barn  and  has  to  be  managed  rather  tactfully  as  he  has  a  violent 
temper  when  roused.     He  is  well  developed  physically. 


HEREDITARY    GROUP.      MENTALITY    6 


199 


Herman  is  the  first  born  of  a  family  of  five.  The  next  younger 
is  also  feeble-minded  and  epileptic.  The  next  died  at  four  years. 
The  last  two  are  possibly  normal.  The  father  of  this  family 
was  alcoholic,  but  nothing  else  is  known.  The  mother  was 
feeble-minded ;  a  very  low  grade,  degenerate  woman ;  syphiHtic, 
and  sexually  immoral.  She  had  two  brothers,  feeble-minded 
like  herself,  five  other  sibs  undetermined,  including  one  who  died 
in  infancy  and  one  that  was  a  suicide  for  love.  This  case  is  dis- 
tantly related  to  Case  102. 


CHART  86 


/<!^i3SSSSSS^[SrSWS^    in][n](n) 


DISAPPEARED. 


EI  D 

CASE  86.  FRANK  D.  24  years  old.  Mentality  6.  Has  been  here 
10  years.  American  born;  father  English,  mother  American.  Had  scarlet 
fever  at  the  age  of  four  years,  which  is  supposed  to  be  the  cause  of  the  defect. 

Frank  is  rather  a  helpless,  useless  sort  of  a  boy,  talks  a  great 
deal  and  is  profane,  cannot  do  any  kind  of  work ;  is  cranky  and 
quarrelsome  at  times,  other  times  cheerful.  He  is  very  slow  to 
act  but  quick-tempered;  has  bad  habits;  was  fourteen  when 
admitted,  and  then  it  was  said  his  capacity  was  ''nearly  normal." 
Now  he  knows  all  of  his  letters,  is  fond  of  music,  sings  many  songs ; 
memory  poor,  attention  slight,  imitation  good ;  is  left-handed. 

Frank's  family  history  is  one  that  leaves  much  to  be  desired 
in  the  way  of  positive  data.  It  is  clear  that  his  mother  is  feeble- 
minded and  sexually  immoral  as  well.     Nothing  else  is  known 


200 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


about  her  family  except  that  a  sister  was  immoral  like  herself, 
as  was  also  the  mother. 

Frank's  father  is  undetermined,  he,  however,  had  a  normal 
brother  who  has  a  feeble-minded  grandson.  It  is  altogether  a 
low  grade  family  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  the  hereditary 
character,  altho  not  many  of  the  defective  individuals  have 
been  found. 

CHAKT  8/ 


I4YRS.  t2YlW. 

PU>  OLD  IN 

IN  3rd  3rd     ^ 

CKADE  GRADS 


ICE  E. 

k 


CASE  87.  GEORGE  E.  14  years  old.  Mentality  6.  Has  been  here 
7  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  an  attack  of  diarrhoea 
at  the  age  of  seven  months;  has  had  marasmus  and  phthiriasis  capitis. 
Assigned  cause  of  his  condition  is  the  diarrhoea  resulting  in  hydrocephaloid 
state. 

George  has  the  appearance  of  a  bright  little  boy  of  eight  years 
of  age.  He  did  not  begin  to  talk  until  four  and  has  never  learned 
to  talk  plainly.  He  has  never  gotten  beyond  the  kindergarten 
in  his  work  and  for  some  time  has  made  no  improvement ;  can 
memorize  the  words  of  songs  and  go  thru  the  motions  of  singing 
them.  He  is  cheerful,  but  quarrelsome  and  stubborn;  active, 
affectionate,  quite  excitable,  destructive  and  mischievous;  has 
rather  a  strong  tendency  to  kick  and  bite  other  boys. 

George's  condition  is  clearly  deep  seated  and  hereditary ;  the 
sickness  referred  to  was  probably  an  incident  in  his  early  life. 
The  family  are  strongly  defective  and  have  for  years  been  ob- 
jects of  charity  in  their  neighborhood. 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY   6 


20I 


CHART   88 


N 


S"5W^}-T— <5      S       ^ 


©liOi   [Nji       lir$H§^     [n](n)(n)      [n](n)[n] 


N?l 


CASE  88.  HOMER  F.  Deaf.  28  years  old.  Mentality  6.  Has  been 
here  18  years.  Born  in  Germany,  of  German  parents.  Deafness  supposed 
to  be  due  to  congestion  caused  by  whooping-cough.  He  had  whooping- 
cough  at  the  age  of  two  months,  measles  at  six  years,  eczema  at  twelve 
years,  spasms  at  thirteen  years. 

Homer  can  say  about  twenty  words;  has  learned  a  little  in 
number,  can  subtract,  for  instance,  four  from  seven,  or  add  four 
and  three  with  objects ;  is  a  fairly  good  industrial  worker  about 
the  cottage  or  in  the  laundry ;  can  do  good  work  when  he  tries 
but  gets  careless  and  stubborn ;  is  cheerful  but  quick-tem- 
pered ;  somewhat  quarrelsome ;  is  fond  of  other  children  and  is 
generally  agreeable  to  those  about  him ;  is  fairly  good  at  imper- 
sonating other  boys.  The  deafness  does  not  seem  to  be  heredi- 
tary, at  least  none  has  been  found  in  the  family.  The  mother  is 
feeble-minded  as  are  also  two  of  Homer's  younger  brothers; 
two  sisters  are  perhaps  normal.  The  father  is  normal  but  a 
weak,  easy-going  man ;  he  has  a  sister  who  is  considered  normal, 
but  of  her  five  children  only  one  lived,  two  being  still-births  and 
two  early  deaths. 

CASE  89.  JENNIE  G.  20  years  old.  Mentality  6.  Has  been  here  11 
years.  American  born;  father  German,  mother  Norwegian.  Has  had 
measles,  whooping-cough  at  the  age  of  four,  scarlet  fever  at  seven. 

At  the  age  of  nine,  when  admitted,  Jennie  could  partly  dress 
herself;  understood  language,  but  not  always  a  command; 
could  count  to  ten ;  recognized  color  and  form ;    was  obstinate 


202  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

and  passionate.  A  year  later  she  was  doing  simple  kindergarten 
work,  was  rather  timid ;  could  sew,  and  cut  out  pictures ;  liked 
to  knit  on  a  spool  and  sew  on  buttons.  Three  years  later  she  was 
spelling  words  Uke  cat,  mat,  etc.,  could  form  a  few  letters,  could 
braid  raffia,  knew  the  value  of  i,  2,  3,  and  4,  and  could  count 
to  20 ;  could  sew  nicely.  Two  years  later  the  report  is,  "sl  little 
better  in  basketry,  is  incapable  of  progress  in  English  work, 
sewing  good."  Three  years  later  ''no  improvement  mentally 
and  little  manually."  That  was  in  1909  and  there  has  been 
^.^^^^J  gg  practically    no     change     since. 

//    jr  ^  She  is  sober,  rather  quarrelsome, 

ItU    I    iP  W  seldom  smiles ;  is  slow,  obedient, 

altho  sometimes  obstinate. 


I      I      I      I      I         j^F/^*  '^^^^  ^^  almost  certainly  a  he- 

U  ©  □  0,LJ.  ..„oSo2"42,,r     reditary  case.     Jennie  is  the  sec- 
ll  ond  born  of  five  children.     The 

"""""•  youngest    died    at    seven,    the 

other  three  are  in  homes  somewhere,  but  no  one  knows  where. 
The  father  was  probably  a  normal  man.  He  was  killed  by  a 
fall.  The  mother  is  feeble-minded.  The  mother's  sister  had 
two  daughters,  both  of  whom  were  immoral  women.  Nothing 
further  is  known  of  the  family. 

CASE  90.    HAROLD  H.    19  years  old.    Mentality  6.    Has  been  here  7 

years.  American  born,  of  German  parents.  Has  right-sided  inguinal  hernia. 
The  child  is  a  cheerful,  good  natured,  high  grade  imbecile  of  normal  height 
and  weight,  good  face  and  physique. 

Although  carefully  trained  in  our  School  Department  for 
several  years,  the  child  has  never  been  able  to  make  any  great 
progress.  He  can  recognize  a  few  figures  and  count  a  little. 
Industrially  he  does  a  Httle  better  but  has  never  been  able  to 
learn  anything  complicated.  He  is  an  errand  boy,  going  from 
cottage  to  cottage  and  does  this  fairly  well.  He  is  apt  to  giggle 
when  spoken  to,  and  at  times  is  very  silly,  but  on  the  whole  is 
a  general  favorite  in  his  group. 


CASE  89,  JENNIE  G.,  AGE  20.  MENTALLY  6. 
CASE  92,  HARRY  I.,  AGE  26.  MENTALLY  6. 
CASE   94,   LOTTIE   I.,   AGE   22.       MENTALLY   6. 


HEREDITARY    GROUP.     MENTALITY   6 


203 


The  chart  shows  the  cause  of  his  condition. 
An  older  sister  is  feeble-minded  and  has  had  an  illegitimate 
child  that  died.     The  mother  and  one  of  her  sisters  are  feeble- 


CHART  90 


66666[3-f<^<i6C>64i 


i5Sa 


minded.  The  father  is  alcoholic  and  tuberculous.  A  paternal 
aunt  of  Harold's  had  three  children,  one  of  whom  is  criminaHstic 
and  in  jail ;  another  is  spoken  of  as  being  lazy.  It  is  possible 
there  is  some  mental  defect  here  also. 


CHART  91 


PROBABLY  ^K                ■ 

HARRIED  INTO  I WS 

THE  KAtXlKAK  I         mfl 

FAniLY  I          "^ 


(N> 


BRIGHTER 
THAN  THE 
REST 


CASE  91.  MELVIN  I.  14  years  old.  Mentality  6.  Has  been  her* 
4  years.  American  born,  of  American  parentage.  Has  had  convulsions 
measles  at  the  age  of  6  years  and  has  had  scarlet  fever. 

•  When  admitted  two  years  ago,  he  could  dress  and  undress, 
could  not  read,  was  very  excitable  and  nervous,  had  no  results 
from  two  years  in  public  school.     Since  coming  here  has  improved 


204  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

very  much;  is  very  fond  of  gardening;  can  sew  and  weave 
nicely;  is  hard  to  manage  because  he  is  very  pecuHar;  cries 
at  the  slightest  correction  but  does  not  heed;  is  improving. 
An  attractive  Httle  boy,  works  nicely  in  the  kindergarten,  takes 
direction  very  well. 

Both  parents  are  feeble-minded,  father  sexually  immoral, 
and  syphilitic,  with  a  brother  who  is  alcohoHc  and  also  immoral. 
Another  brother,  normal,  married  a  normal  woman  and  had 
six  normal  children.  The  mother  has  a  feeble-minded  brother 
and  sister.  The  parents  of  these  three  were  also  feeble-minded. 
The  mother  has  a  feeble-minded  sister  who  married  a  feeble- 
minded man  and  they  have  had  two  feeble-minded  children. 
The  father  had  a  brother  who  was  insane. 

Melvin's  paternal  grandfather  is  normal  and  belongs  to  a 
large  normal  and  highly  respectable  family,  but  he  married  a 
woman  who  had  a  feeble-minded  sister.  That  was  his  un- 
doing. She  transmitted  her  family  defect  to  their  son,  the 
father  of  our  Melvin.  Our  boy  has  a  feeble-minded  brother, 
two  feeble-minded  sisters,  two  that  died  in  infancy  and  one  who 
is  "brighter  than  the  rest." 

The  paternal  grandmother's  sister  whose  mental  condition  is 
undetermined  probably  married  into  the  Kallikak  family.  She 
has  the  same  family  name  and  lives  in  the  same  locality,  but  we 
have  been  unable  to  make  the  connection. 

This  is  a  striking  chart  eugenically,  as  it  shows  a  man  of  excel- 
lent family  marrying  a  woman  who  was  normal,  to  be  sure,  but 
who  had  an  imbecile  sister  whose  defect  was  probably  hereditary. 
Of  their  three  children,  one  was  normal,  one  certainly  defec- 
tive, the  third  probably  so.  The  defective  one  in  turn  married 
into  a  very  defective  family  with  the  result  that  our  child  and  his 
brothers  and  sisters  are  defective. 

CASE  92.  HARRY  I.  26  years  old.  Mentality  6.  Has  been  here  18 
years.  American  born,  of  American  parentage.  Had  none  of  the  children's 
diseases ;  had  convulsions  once  or  twice  when  young. 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY   6  205 

When  he  came  here  was  considered  a  nice  looking  child,  seemed 
very  bright ;  did  not  talk,  but  was  fond  of  play  and  company ; 
was  reported  as  being  double-jointed.  Two  years  later,  he  had 
become  a  great  talker,  altho  his  speech  was  thick  and  somewhat 
indistinct,  this  is  probably  due,  in  part  at  least,  to  a  very  large, 
thick  tongue.  He  is  somewhat  restless  and  difficult  to  manage ; 
stubborn. 

At  present,  he  helps  a  little  in  the  care  of  low  grade  children. 
He  scrubs  and  dries  dishes.  He  is  considerably  below  any 
normal  person  of  his  age  in  height  and  weight,  his  grip  and  lung 
capacity  are  still  ^^^^^  ^^ 

farther     below 
normal. 

He  can  copy 
the  square  but 
not  the  dia- 
mond ;  can 
count     thirteen 

J  HARRY  I. 

pennies  and  rec- 
ognizes colors ;  cannot  tell  the  difference  between  wood  and 
glass,  or  between  butterfly  and  fly;  cannot  remember  five 
figures ;  is  cheerful,  but  quarrelsome,  excitable  and  quick- 
tempered, somewhat  given  to  thieving,  destructive  and  mis- 
chievous. Can  repeat  some  songs  that  he  has  learned ;  has  a 
good  memory.     His  habits  are  bad  and  cannot  be  improved. 

Our  knowledge  of  his  family  does  not  cover  a  great  many  in- 
dividuals, but  enough  to  estabhsh  the  fact  of  hereditary  feeble- 
mindedness of  rather  a  low  grade  type.  The  father,  especially, 
is  said  to  have  been  a  dwarf  physically  and  completely  deformed 
in  character.  He  is  feeble-minded,  alcohoHc  and  sexually  im- 
moral; has  had  three  wives.  The  first  wife,  the  mother  of 
Harry,  was  feeble-minded  but  had  a  normal  brother.  From  this 
marriage  there  were  seven  children  of  whom  five  died  in  infancy 
and  one  is  unknown.     The  second  wife  is  unknown.     The  third 


666Sb 


206 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


wife  is  feeble-minded,  had  been  married  before  and  by  her  first 
husband,  had  at  least  one  feeble-minded  child.  Four  others 
are  undetermined. 


P-T-O 


1«T  HUSBAND 


CHART   93 


o 


O-T-O 


2M0 HUSBAND 


6  (53SM^666666[tii6 


CASE  93.  KONRAD  I.  32  years  old.  Mentality  6.  Has  been  here 
14  years.  American  born,  of  American  parentage.  Was  a  strong  baby. 
Learned  to  talk  at  three  years  of  age,  altho  his  speech  was  defective.  He 
had  convulsions  when  he  was  two  or  three  years  old. 

Upon  admission  at  the  age  of  18,  his  speech  defect  was  notice- 
able. He  could  not  read  nor  do  any  arithmetic ;  knew  some 
colors;  was  fond  of  music;  could  wash  dishes,  cut  wood  and 
care  for  horses ;  inclined  to  run  away ;  was  careless,  indolent, 
passionate  and  filthy. 

He  was  placed  at  once  in  the  school  department  but  was  an 
entire  failure.  He  could  do  no  school  work.  He  could  do  ex- 
cellent gardening  and  a  little  woodwork. 

At  present,  he  does  fairly  well  helping  the  mason ;  works  in 
the  kitchen  and  on  the  farm.  He  is  cheerful,  rather  sober  and 
silent,  obedient,  affectionate,  somewhat  timid,  willing  and  tries, 
is  truthful,  somewhat  excitable  and  sensitive,  forgetful,  gen- 
erally good-tempered. 

Konrad's  father  and  mother  are  both  feeble-minded,  the  father 
being  also  alcoholic.     The  mother  belongs  to  a  large  family  but 


HEREDITARY  GROUP.     MENTALITY  6 


207 


nothing  could  be  determined  as  to  their  mentality.  Konrad  has 
had  seven  feeble-minded  brothers  and  sisters,  one  died  in  in- 
fancy, one  died  of  black  diphtheria,  and  there  was  one  mis- 
carriage.    Some  of  them  are  of  higher  mentality  than  Konrad. 


CHART   94 


TOd 


D 


O 


0&  665B-n-d& 


(N)[N](N)  n-T-6©©s©6  i  i 

LOTTIE  L 

i 


®  666^6\h6\h 


CASE  94.  LOTTIE  I.  22  years  old.  Mentality  6.  Has  been  here  12 
years.  Was  born  in  America;  father  German,  mother  Danish.  Small  of 
stature,  equal  to  about  ten  per  cent  of  children  of  her  age.  Has  microph- 
thalmic  eyes  which  are  in  constant   motion;  vision  probably  very  poor. 

Upon  admission  at  the  age  of  ten  she  could  dress  herself  except- 
ing the  buttons ;  could  undress ;  was  said  to  understand  Eng- 
Hsh,  German  and  Danish  languages;  understood  commands 
but  was  not  very  obedient.  Her  teeth  were  very  imperfect; 
talked  very  little;  could  count  to  ten  or  fifteen  and  copy  a 
few  words  ;  could  sing  a  little  ;  memory  poor ;  could  do  errands, 
and  wash  dishes  ;  was  left-handed  ;  not  very  affectionate  ;  fond 
of  play ;  had  spent  three  years  in  public  kindergarten  with  no 
results. 

She  improved  somewhat  under  training,  was  able  to  group 
pegs  as  high  as  six,  could  count  to  ten ;  learned  to  sew  a  Httle ; 
wove  a  basket ;  had  a  violent  temper  which  made  it  necessary 
to  take  her  out  of  school;    was  stubborn  and  sulky  at  times; 


208 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


was  never  able  to  do  as  much  as  her  intelHgence  seemed  to  war- 
rant, partly,  perhaps,  on  account  of  her  eyes  which  in  turn  may 
have  affected  her  disposition,  at  least  the  latter  is  bad. 

That  her  mental  defect  is  hereditary  is  evident  from  the  chart, 
where  we  have  at  least  three  feeble-minded  persons.  Of  the 
father's  family  practically  nothing  is  known  except  that  he  him- 
self was  alcoholic  and  tuberculous  and  died  of  cancer  at  the  age 
of  fifty- three.  This  is  one  of  a  number  of  charts  that  show  that 
alcohohsm  in  one  of  the  parents  results  in  a  great  many  early 
deaths.  Here  we  have  a  feeble-minded  mother  and  an  alcohoHc 
father  —  two  children  feeble-minded,  all  the  rest  of  the  eight 
were  either  still  births  or  died  in  infancy. 

It  is  further  interesting  to  note  that  there  seems  to  be  some 
hereditary  eye  trouble  —  as  our  child's  mother  and  grandmother 
are  both  reported  to  have  weak  eyes,  while  an  older  sister  of 
Lottie's  had  eight  children,  one  of  whom  is  reported  to  have  been 
blind. 

CHART    95 

TFJl— r— (N)  n- 


<5 


A        I A      JA 


(N)[N](N)©(^ 

2  8  vl?FE 


CASE  95.  DAVID  L.  22  years  old.  Mentality  6.  Has  been  here  7 
years.     American  born,  of  American  parents.     Has  had  whooping-cough. 

David  is  a  curious  httle  fellow,  very  much  under  size,  with 
very  defective  eye-sight;  is  very  quiet,  takes  everything  as  a 
matter  of  course;  has  not  been  able  to  learn  anything  worth 
mentioning,  in  the  Hne  of  book  work  ;  says  very  comical  things ; 


CASE   95,    DAVID    L.,    AGE   22. 
CASE   96,   FREDA    M.,    AGE   23. 
CASE   97,    KARL   N.,    AGE   29. 


MENTALLY  6. 
MENTALLY  6. 
MENTALLY  6. 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY   6  209 

is  an  errand  boy  and  helps  in  cleaning  about  the  cottage ;  is 
cheerful,  obedient,  affectionate,  sensitive,  even-tempered. 

The  family  chart  shows  several  interesting  points.  David 
is  one  of  seven  children,  two  sisters,  twins,  are  feeble-minded, 
next  two  died  in  infancy ;  the  oldest  and  the  youngest  child  of 
the  family  are  undetermined.  The  father  is  alcoholic  but  prob- 
ably normal.  His  family  seems  to  be  good.  David's  mother  is 
feeble-minded.  Her  parents,  a  brother  and  two  sisters  were 
alcoholic.  The  father  of  our  boy  was  married  earher  and  had  11 
children  by  his  first  wife,  of  whom  five  were  normal,  the  rest 
died  in  infancy.  The  first  wife  was  a  normal  woman  but  tuber- 
culous and  of  a  tuberculous  family.  She  was  always  weak  and 
sickly  and  died  of  the  disease  at  45.  This  would  seem  to  be 
a  strong  case  bearing  on  the  problem  of  whether  alcohol  and 
tuberculosis  of  long  standing  can  together  produce  mental  de- 
fect. In  this  family  of  11  children  there  is  no  mental  defect, 
whereas  from  the  second  w^ife,  who  was  feeble-minded,  there 
are  no  known  normal  children. 


CHART  96 


\k       6       6-r<bfZ<^       b    6    iNhM 


TWINS  JL 


DISAPPEARED 


<N) 


(113VRS.  ^^     L_J  "SYRS.  ^^  2  2  2 


Mill    rk 
•  •  •  •  •  [NJ 


CASE  96.  FREDA  M.  23  years  old.  Mentality  6.  Has  been  here 
16  years.  Amencan  born;  father  English,  mother  American.  Has  had 
diphtheria;   has  scrofulous  tendencies. 

Freda  was  said  to  be  sly  and  destructive  when  admitted  at 
the  age  of  seven ;  understood  command ;  was  a  clean  child ; 
had  poor  sight;    no  idea  of  form  and  color;    has  always  been 


2IO 


FEEBLE-MIXDEDNESS 


deceitful  and  has  to  be  closely  watched ;  is  thieving  and  not 
truthful.  As  usual  in  one  of  her  mental  age,  does  very  little 
in  number  work  or  in  reading  and  writing.  Industrially  she 
accomplishes  something ;  can  do  house  and  laundry  work ;  has 
some  ability  in  this  direction  but  is  lazy ;  is  a  rather  cheerful, 
good-tempered  girl,  somewhat  loud  spoken  and  talks  much ; 
no  special  stigmata  and  is  not  wholly  unattractive ;  would  easily 
be  picked  up  by  some  man  not  much  above  her  in  intelligence ; 
the  probable  consequences  are  easily  deduced  from  a  view  of  the 
family  chart.  There  we  see,  altho  many  of  the  individuals  are 
undetermined,  enough  to  satisfy  us  of  the  hereditary  character 
of  the  defect.  The  mother  is  undetermined  but  her  twin  sister 
was  feeble-minded.  The  father  is  undetermined  but  is  spoken 
of  as  being  a  "brute." 

Freda  is  one  of  six  children  and  there  were  some  miscarriages, 
the  cause  of  which  could  not  be  obtained. 


CHART    97 


A   I 

D 


—  6    •      LA2V  GRAND 


i^i(!)60-p5g00&j-i  ^^^p 


T 


CASE  97.  KARL  N.  29  years  old.  Mentality  6.  Has  been  here  11 
years.     American  born,  of  American  parents. 

Karl  was  eighteen  years  old  when  admitted.  At  that  time  it 
is  recorded  that  he  understood  language  and  was  obedient ; 
spoke  well ;  could  not  read  nor  count ;  attention  poor ;  could  do 
simple  errands.     Under  training  he  learned  slowly  but  usually 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY   6  211 

remembered  what  he  learned ;  could  write  several  sentences ; 
was  fond  of  horses,  dogs  and  cows ;  has  no  further  record  of  school 
work  but  we  find  him  on  the  farm. 

The  following  account  from  the  dairyman  will  give  as  good  an 
idea  of  Karl's  capacity  as  a  longer  description. 

"Karl  is  a  sort  of  an  all-around  man,  chicken  man,  pig  man, 
ox  driver,  milker  and  talker  about  nothing.  He  will  say  he  can 
fool  most  any  cow  in  the  barn.  When  the  regular  milker  is  absent, 
Karl  takes  his  place  (if  the  chickens  or  pigs  can  spare  him)  and 
because  he  treats  the  cows  kindly,  as  most  of  the  milkers  do,  he 
gets  lots  of  milk.  It  is  a  hard  job  to  be  an  extra  milker  and  get 
as  much  milk  from  a  cow  as  the  regular  milker ;  Karl  does  it  most 
of  the  time  and  the  cow  thinks  Karl  is  the  regular  milker. 

Under  supervision  Karl  is  a  good  worker,  and  is  quite  useful. 
He  is  quick-tempered,  inclined  to  be  stubborn  and  sober;  is 
thieving,  very  sensitive,  and  very  slow. 

The  family  chart  shows  at  a  glance  that  we  are  dealing  with  a 
mentally  defective  family,  with  the  feeble-mindedness  in  at  least 
two  generations.  There  is  combined  with  it  insanity  and  alco- 
holism and  also  a  large  amount  of  tuberculosis.  Furthermore,  this 
family  is  related  to  the  maternal  grandmother  on  Chart  43,  where 
the  grandfather  is  a  brother  of  this  maternal  grandmother. 
Thus  we  have  in  the  Institution  two  children  from  the  same 
ancestry  who  previous  to  our  investigation  were  not  known  to 
be  related. 

CASE  98.  DAVID  Q.  24  years  old.  Mentality  6.  Has  been  here  15 
years.  American  born,  of  German  parents.  Had  spasms  at  the  age  of 
three  months.  Assigned  cause  "  the  method  of  nourishment,  condensed 
milk." 

David  is  a  very  good  boy  of  medium  intelligence  ;  is  very 
near-sighted.  At  the  age  of  nine  he  could  dress  himself  but 
poorly,  could  not  wash  himself.  He  has  never  succeeded  with 
the  three  R's  but  has  become  a  very  good  industrial  worker. 


212 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


5^mj-^:^^ 


CHART  98  He    has   a    very    bad    disposition 

hich  he  has,  however,  learned  to 

trol  to  quite  an  extent;  he  is 

cheerful    and    generally    obedient, 

/jjj\  1^  i    I    ffl  1^   rather  quiet,  not  always  truthful, 
^^  altho  not  especially  noted  for  the 

opposite  quality. 

The  chart  shows  that  w^ithout 
doubt  this  case  is  hereditary,  thru 
the  mother's  family.  The  father  is  alcoholic.  A  younger 
brother  is  in  the  Reformatory  and  may  possibly  be  defective. 


m 


CHART  99  ^ 

NOT  MARRIED     Sx 

NIINI ,— (n)       (n) 1 [n] 1 Q 


[n][H][n]®[n 


.^x     SxF        I        Itw.nsI       JL       I        >^«'"-'»!        I        iSx    I         S%rTj    ^ 

Bhr:PO©©®B©©0O©&f® 


T  MAR> 

□ 

bennIe  q. 


N)    [5e[n][n][n]    ©(N)[t](N)    ©©5 


CASE  99.  BENNIE  Q.  14  years  old.  Mentality  6.  Exact  birthplace 
and  that  of  his  parents  unknown  —  probably  America.  Has  had  measles, 
scarlet  fever  and  eczema. 

He  has  been  in  the  Institution  7  years.  When  he  came  his 
head  was  noticeably  large.  He  was  of  uncertain  gait,  excitable, 
laughed  without  cause  ;  strayed  from  home  ;  was  obstinate  but 
affectionate ;   fond  of  children  and  play.     The  following  year  it 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY   6  213 

was  reported  that  he  would  improve  steadily  under  instruction. 
This,  however,  has  not  proved  to  be  the  case  to  any  great  extent. 
He  is  still  in  the  kindergarten,  partly  because  he  is  small  of 
stature  and  seems  more  Uke  a  kindergarten  child  ;  does  practically 
nothing  in  book  work,  very  Kttle  in  hammered  brass  or  basketry  ; 
seems  to  try,  but  has  very  poor  memory ;  does  not  progress. 

He  cannot  copy  either  the  square  or  the  diamond ;  can  do  the 
three  errands,  but  does  not  know  his  right  hand  and  left  ear. 
He  recognizes  colors,  sees  the  lack  in  the  unfinished  pictures, 
describes  pictures,  but  cannot  count  13  pennies,  cannot  repeat 
five  figures ;  has  only  2%  vision  in  each  eye.  His  hearing  is  about 
normal.  Asked  to  write  his  name,  he  makes  nothing  but  scribbles ; 
is  full  of  mischief  and  is  always  getting  into  trouble ;  is  a  great 
talker,  but  his  speech  is  very  thick  and  indistinct ;  is  cheerful, 
quarrelsome,  stubborn,  active,  not  always  obedient,  restless, 
affectionate,  excitable,  quick-tempered,  destructive ;  has  had 
adenoids  removed,  but  it  did  not  seem  to  improve  him.  In 
standing  height,  he  is  equal  to  less  than  10%  of  normal  boys  of 
his  age ;  in  weight,  about  35%.  Will-power,  as  shown  by  the 
dynamometer,  is  much  below  normal. 

Both  parents  are  probably  defective.  The  only  doubt  Hes 
in  the  fact  that  the  mother  was  a  prostitute,  and  so  there  is  some 
uncertainty  as  to  who  was  the  father.  It  is  generally  supposed, 
however,  that  he  is  a  certain  person  who  is  known  to  be 
defective. 

The  mother  has  two  sisters  and  a  brother  feeble-minded,  and 
one  sister  and  brother  are  sexually  immoral.  There  are  two 
brothers  and  a  sister  who  are  normal,  and  have  normal  children. 
The  rest  of  the  family,  including  two  sets  of  twins,  died  in  infancy. 
The  oldest  brother  married  a  normal  woman  and  they  had  four 
children,  two  of  whom  are  normal  and  two  died  in  infancy.  The 
maternal  grandfather's  family  seems  to  have  been  perfectly  nor- 
mal. The  maternal  grandmother  was  feeble-minded  and  had  chil- 
dren by  two  other  men,  one  of  whom  was  feeble-minded.     By  one 


214 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


of  these  she  had  a  daughter  who  was  feeble-minded  and  she  in 
turn  had  three  children,  one  of  whom  is  feeble-minded  and  an- 
other died  in  infancy.  The  maternal  great-grandmother  was  also 
immoral  and  feeble-minded. 

This  is  a  charity  case  ;  the  mother  herself  was  placed  out  by  a 
Home  Finding  Society,  and  when  this  child  was  born,  there  was 
considerable  uncertainty  as  to  his  parentage.  He  has  been 
placed  in  the  Institution  and  is  provided  for  by  a  Charitable 
Organization. 


CHART   100 


fOUK  CENEXATIONS  OF  NOUUL  FEOPLe 


oiemn) 


EIt® 


CASE  100.  WARREN  Q.  24  years  old.  Mentality  6.  Has  been  here 
7  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  whooping-cough  at  the 
age  of  four  and  measles  at  seven.  Assigned  cause  of  the  defect,  "  serious  fall 
of  the  mother." 

Warren  was  about  eighteen  years  old  when  admitted.  He 
began  to  talk  at  the  age  of  five  ;  did  not  understand  a  command ; 
did  not  talk  plainly ;  had  no  knowledge  of  form  ;  memory  poor ; 
attention  fair ;  was  inclined  to  stay  away  from  home  ;  was  heed- 
less of  danger.  He  had  been  in  pubHc  school  a  little,  but  knew  no 
letters ;  counted  only  to  ten  ;  could  not  add  ;  had  sold  papers  for 


CASE  99,  BENNIE  Q.,  AGE  14.  MENTALLY  6. 
CASE  100,  WARREN  Q,  AGE  24.  MENTALLY  6. 
CASE   101,    WILFRED    Q.,   AGE   26.     MENTALLY   6. 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY   6  215 

six  years.  Whether  Warren  was  unusually  incapable  of  learn- 
ing because  of  an  exceptionally  bad  memory,  or  whether  he  was 
too  old  when  he  came  to  us,  we  do  not  know,  but  nothing  could 
be  done  with  him  in  the  School  Department,  and  he  has  never 
been  able  to  learn  to  do  anything  more  than  the  coarsest  kind 
of  work  in  the  house  or  with  the  mason.  He  is  rather  pleasant, 
easily  managed,  with  all  the  characteristics  of  children  of  his 
age,  likely  to  be  quarrelsome  and  stubborn,  although  generally 
willing,  cannot  be  reHed  upon,  and  he  persists  in  taking  things 
that  do  not  belong  to  him.  His  Wassermann  reaction  is 
positive. 

The  family  chart  is  exceedingly  interesting.  It  shows  at  a 
glance  the  strong  hereditary  taint  and  also  the  very  low  grade 
of  morahty  which  characterizes  the  family  in  later  generations. 
It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  paternal  grandfather,  whom 
we  have  called  Nick  on  the  chart,  is  of  good  family,  although  he 
himself  was  totally  different  from  the  rest.  He  was  weak  in 
every  way,  and  by  all  our  criteria  to  be  considered  feeble- 
minded. He  married  into  a  family  that  was  much  lower 
socially  than  his  own,  although  we  have  no  proof  that  it  was  a 
defective  family.  The  children  of  this  couple  were  all  mentally 
defective  and  low  grade,  morally  as  well  as  intellectually.  This 
is  of  interest  because  of  the  possibility  that  we  have  here  an  in- 
stance of  the  beginning  of  a  feeble-minded  strain.  If  Nick  him- 
self was  feeble-minded,  as  we  now  think,  then  it  would  seem  to 
be  a  sporadic  case,  as  his  ancestors  were  normal  and  moral. 

The  children  of  Nick  all  married  into  bad  families  and  so 
brought  in  more  defect.  Warren's  father  Jake,  a  thoroughly 
disgraceful  character,  married  Sal,  a  woman  somewhat  older  than 
he,  who  was  very  religious  at  times ;  and  it  is  interesting  that 
this  religiosity  has  appeared  in  several  members  of  this  family. 
Unfortunately  for  any  scientific  determinations  in  this  case,  the 
doubtful  ones  are  in  such  remote  generations  that  we  are  unable 
to  follow  them  with  any  degree  of  accuracy. 


2 1 6  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

The  immorality  of  this  family  beggars  description.  The  girl 
named  Moll  on  the  chart,  was  fifteen  years  old  when  Jake  brought 
her  into  his  home ;  his  wife,  Sal,  was  so  feeble-minded  that  she 
allowed  the  illicit  relations  between  these  two.  Moll's  child  was 
born  in  the  Hospital  after  the  mother  had  been  sent  away  from 
one  Home  because  of  her  horrible  syphilitic  condition  —  from 
which  she  finally  died. 

Our  boy  Warren's  sister  Liz,  with  whom  the  father  lived  in 
incestuous  relations,  was  also  allowed  to  Kve  ilHcitly  with  a  man 
who  worked  for  her  father.  She  was  so  simple  that  she  talked 
openly  about  her  relations  with  her  father  and  with  this  man. 
When  a  child  was  to  be  born  the  man  married  her.  At  times 
this  man  gets  religious  and  will  get  down  on  the  street  and  pray 
and  at  other  times  he  is  correspondingly  profane. 

This  is  not  all,  but  it  is  enough ;  and  sufficient  to  show  what 
feeble-mindedness  leads  to  when  it  takes  the  direction  of  sexual 
abuses.  We  have  marked  a  number  of  individuals  here  ques- 
tionable because  we  did  not  have  any  objective  evidence  to  prove 
that  they  were  either  normal  or  defective,  but  one  can  reason  in 
many  cases  that,  in  all  probabiHty,  they  were  mentally  defective. 
For  example,  Jake's  brother  who  married  the  feeble-minded 
woman,  had  a  daughter  that  is  marked  questionable.  Both 
parents  being  feeble-minded,  that  daughter  also  was  undoubt- 
edly feeble-minded.  Also  Jake's  sister  married  a  man  whom 
we  have  called  Mose ;  one  of  their  children  was  certainly  feeble- 
minded and  the  probabiHties  are  great  that  the  others  are  like- 
wise and  that  Mose  himself  was  defective.  Again  to  go  back  to 
old  Nick,  since  he  had  six  children  all  defective,  it  is  highly 
probable  that  his  wife  Nan  was  also  defective,  and  perhaps  her 
whole  family  likewise. 

The  chart  also  illustrates  how  a  good  family  may  be  closely 
related  to  one  of  the  blackest  kind.  Sal's  father  was  feeble- 
minded but  he  had  a  brother  who  was  normal.  That  man 
married  a  normal  woman  and  started  a  normal  line  which  is 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.      MENT.\LITY   6 


217 


thoroly  respectable  and  a  well-known  family  in  their  commu- 
nity. 


CHART  101 


65'^^Vr<^ 


D 


O 


ELATED  TO  ''  ^"^  "^        T  T  '''  I 

\S£ia  PARALYSIS  2«.iNr.  lU  i  | 


tELATED  TO  ''I  I         ^"^                    ^^"         T 

AS£U  PARJLYSIS  2-'iNr                                                     ^I'u^^ 

/^^  2^  d.    WILFRED 

la/           BRIGHTEST  ^ 

19'              OF  THE  LOT  ^ 


<bb 


CASE  loi.  WILFRED  Q.  26  years  old.  Mentality  6.  Has  been 
here  19  years.  American  born ;  father  American,  mother  unknown.  Had 
whooping-cough  at  eight  years,  eczema  at  ten.  Assigned  cause,  "  weakness 
and  nervous  condition  of  mother's  mind." 

Wilfred  came  here  when  he  was  five ;  could  feed  himself 
with  a  spoon,  and  get  around  quickly ;  could  not  dress  himself ; 
knew  letters  and  colors  ;  did  not  talk  connectedly.  After  seven 
years  of  careful  training,  at  the  age  of  twelve,  he  could  form 
letters  or  figures  from  copy  and  count  to  thirty.  A  year  later, 
however,  the  record  says  ''draws  and  copies  well,  counts  to 
twenty ;  only  able  to  understand  him  to  ten ;  is  useful  in  gar- 
dening and  as  a  cottage  helper."  Since  that  time  he  has  settled 
down  to  become  a  somewhat  useful  errand  boy.  He  has  Pott's 
disease  and  is  not  very  strong.  He  is  fairly  cheerful,  active  and 
obedient,  rather  willing;    inclined  to  tear  things. 

A  glance  at  the  family  chart  shows  that  Wilfred  inherited  his 
trouble  from  both  sides  of  the  family.  The  father's  family  es- 
pecially has  been  worked  out  rather  fully  and  we  find  nothing 
but  mental  defect  all  the  way  through.  Besides  the  mental 
condition  there  is  much  physical  degeneracy  as  well. 


2l8 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

CHART    102    SECTION  r 


CW-^    i      D=R) 


BROTHER  AND  SISTER 


,At  {iusbano 


^^  GRANT  T.  **>.4J    V^BROWNED 


•CHART   102 


a 


JENNIE 
SEE  Ut 
SECTION       3 


N 


N 


iSf^lS^^T) 


^^P  "SLOW, 
^^KNOWn 


S^SdSWS  Bi 


CASE  102.  GRANT  T.  37  years  old.  Mentality  6.  Has  been  here 
19  years.     American  born,  of  American  parents.     Had  whooping-cough. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-two  years  Grant  could  print,  A,  P,  and 
B.  He  knew  ''A"  when  he  saw  it;  has  partial  hemiplegia  on 
the  right  side  so  that  he  does  not  walk  well,  but  he  is  a  rather 
agreeable,  pleasant  fellow,  talks  freely  and  is  trained  to  do 
simple  work;  sweeps,  scrubs,  washes  dishes;  does  good  work 
in  the  laundry. 

Grant  is  the  second  child  in  a  family  of  six.     Three  died  in 


HEREDITARY    GROUP.     MENTALITY   6  219 

infancy ;  one  was  drowned  at  the  age  of  nine ;  one  is  married. 
There  seems  to  be  nothing  wrong  with  the  father's  family.  The 
mother  was  feeble-minded  and  had  a  feeble-minded  sister ;  also 
three  brothers,  condition  unknown.  The  defect  breaks  out 
again  in  the  descendants  of  the  maternal  grandfather's  sister. 
She  had  two  feeble-minded  children ;  four  others  are  undeter- 
mined. In  still  another  branch,  the  maternal  grandmother  had 
a  feeble-minded  brother  who  was  also  sexually  immoral,  spoken  of 
as  a  "good-for-naught."  He  had  five  children,  one  of  whom 
was  normal,  two  died  in  infancy,  one  was  feeble-minded,  another 
one,  undetermined,  married  twice,  her  first  husband  giving  her 
a  feeble-minded  child.  The  normal  son  of  the  old  man  had 
eight  children,  one  of  whom  died  in  infancy,  four  were  normal 
and  three  were  feeble-minded. 

CASE  103.  HARMON  T.  22  years  old.  Mentality  6.  Has  been  here 
7  years. 

Harmon  is  part  colored  and  part  Indian.  Colored  children 
are  no  longer  taken  at  the  Training  School  but  in  the  early  days 
a  few  were  accepted  and  he  was  one.     He  chart  103 

did  not  talk  plainly  :  dragged  himself  along  Q 

but  became  a  fair  worker  in  the  laundry  and  *^ndun 

with  the  donkey  team ;  was  cheerful,  truth-  J_^ 

ful,  good-tempered  and  obedient.     Harmon    Q 1 «  (p 

came  to  the  Training  School  from  one  of  the  not  the  sa«e 

O  FATHERS 

County  Almshouses  of  New  Jersey.     His  I 

mother  was   an  Indian   belonging   to   the  ^  Q 

Ashpeelot   tribe.     She   was   married    to   a  I 

colored  man  and  was  known  as  ''Indian  '^*'"' 

Lib."  She  was  trifling  in  character,  drank,  stole,  was  immoral, 
had  spells  of  being  peculiar  and  was  generally  disreputable, 
although  she  had  some  good  quahties.  She  washed  for  Dr. 
Blank  and  gave  her  daughter,  a  feeble-minded  girl,  to  Mrs. 
Blank    to    raise.      The    daughter    lived    there    several    years, 


220 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


off  and  on,  and  was  deeply  attached  to  them  —  called  Mrs. 
Blank  "  mommy  Blank  "  and  once  ran  away  from  her  grand- 
mother's home  and  finally  reached  the  Blank  residence.  The 
family  was  startled  by  a  furious  pounding  on  the  front  door 
and  found  her  in  a  frightful  condition,  her  clothes  torn  nearly 
off  and  she  seemed  quite  wild.  She  stayed  with  them  for  some 
time  after  that,  but  her  father  took  her  away  again.  He  was 
not  kind  to  her  altho  he  wanted  to  keep  her  at  home.  She 
is  markedly  defective  but  is  a  very  fair  worker.  "Indian  Lib'' 
had  a  sister,  or  half  sister,  who  was  also  defective.  They  were  the 
children  of  a  woman  who  was  said  to  be  a  full  blooded  Indian. 

CASE  104.  HARRY  T.  20  years  old.  Mentality  6.  Has  been  here  10 
years.  American  born,  of  American  parentage.  Condition  attributed  to  a 
fall  at  the  age  of  14  months.  He  had  chicken-pox  at  the  age  of  three  years, 
mumps  at  five,  whooping-cough  at  seven,  measles  at  ten. 

Upon  admission  at  the  age  of  ten,  he  talked  indistinctly,  could 
not  dress  nor  undress  himself,  was  cheerful,  active,  affectionate, 
truthful,  excitable,  quick-tempered.  He  has  never  been  able 
to  do  any  school  work  except  the  most  elementary  kindergarten, 
nor  has  he  been  trained  to  very  much  industrial  work.     He  works 


D 


D 


//         fD" 


CHART   104   SECTION  i 


6^T^ 


FOR  DESCENDANTS  SEE 
SECTION  2 


<Si&v'6&4^5©£W](^ 


B7E 


2  ar  IT  RAN  AWAY    T    PARALYTIC  *  L  1  >r  1^         ^f 

TONARRY  Ml  I 


6      ©©h6©(n 


HEREDITARY    GROUP.     MENTALITY    6 


221 


6b 


CHART    104  SECTION  t 
A 

u 


d-r-<N)bi&©S) 


-0 


a  little  in  the  clothes  room  and  does  simple  errands ;  is  cheerful, 
restless,  affectionate,  slow,  excitable  ;  still  talks  very  indistinctly. 
He  cannot  copy  the  square,  much  less  the  diamond,  but  can 
count  thirteen  pennies,  repeat  the  days  of  the  week  and  even  the 
months  of  the 
year ;  does  not 
know  his  right 
hand  nor  his  left 
ear  ;  definitions 
are  by  use ;  he 
can  execute 
three      commis- 

Father   was    0  Q  6©  ©  ^  □  t^O®  H  ®  ® 
feeble-minded 

and  alcohoHc,  mother  normal.  The  father  has  a  brother  who  is 
feeble-minded  and  alcoholic  and  a  sister  who  is  feeble-minded  and 
deaf.  The  latter  has  had  nine  children  of  whom  one  at  least  is 
feeble-minded,  while  four  are  normal,  the  rest  undetermined.  The 
alcohoHc  brother  married  a  normal  woman  and  they  have  had 
four  children,  one  feeble-minded,  two  normal,  and  one  ran  away 
to  be  married,  at  nineteen.  The  parents  of  the  family  are 
unknown,  but  the  grandmother  had  a  sister  who  married  an 
alcohoHc  man  and  they  had  six  children  (see  chart,  Section  2). 
One  of  these  was  feeble-minded.  Another  daughter,  normal, 
married  an  alcohoHc  man  and  they  had  eleven  children  of 
whom  two  were  feeble-minded.  Still  another  normal  daughter 
married  a  normal  man  but  had  one  feeble-minded  child  out 
of  six  —  four  were  normal  and  one  undetermined. 

Returning  to  Section  i  of  the  chart  we  see  Harry's  mother  was 
normal.  Her  father  was  alcohoHc  and  twice  married.  By  his 
first  wife  he  had  three  children,  one  of  whom,  altho  normal 
herself,  had  a  feeble-minded  son.  Of  her  four  daughters,  one, 
tuberculous,  married  a  man  who  was  tuberculous  but  whose 


222 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


mental  condition  was  unknown.     They  had  three  feeble-minded 
children. 

Our  Harry  has  two  feeble-minded  sisters.  There  have  been 
three  miscarriages  in  the  family  and  there  are  two  brothers  normal 
and  one  child  undetermined.  Most  of  the  defectives  in  the 
family  are  high  grade,  belonging  to  the  moron  type. 


CHART   105 


D 


D 


// 


i5    6    (N) 

I'N 


S 


(§53SW^^e^  d4iS¥5ti 


KUGITIMATE  »"<»•  i.     8  HOT.  ^^ 

k 


CASE  105.  HARRY  W.  17  years  old.  Mentality  6.  Has  been  here 
7  years.  American  born ;  nationality  of  parents  unknown.  The  child  had 
chicken-pox  at  the  age  of  five,  scarlet  fever  at  six  and  measles  at  seven. 

Harry  is  a  smiling,  pleasant  little  fellow,  of  a  type  that  makes 
one  believe  that  he  wants  to  do  a  great  deal  and  will  some  day  ac- 
complish it.  He  is  making  no  progress  mentally  ;  has  done  a  Httle 
kindergarten  work  but  is  not  able  to  get  beyond  it.  Altho  his 
mentahty  would  seem  to  warrant  some  little  industrial  work  he 
has  not  as  yet  developed  any  capacity  even  for  this.  He  cries 
easily,  talks  and  cries  about  nothing,  is  helpful  and  troublesome  by 
spells ;  seems  to  be  deteriorating  rather  than  advancing. 

The  chart  shows  an  appalling  condition  of  things  ;  of  the  father 
nothing  is  known  except  that  he  is  alcoholic;  the  mother  is 
feeble-minded.  Of  ten  conceptions,  there  was  only  one  normal 
child,   and  that  one  is  not  living.     The  rest  were  either  mis- 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.      MENTALITY   6 


223 


carriages,  died  in  infancy  or  feeble-minded.  The  mother,  feeble- 
minded, has  a  feeble-minded  brother ;  another  brother  and  sister 
undetermined.  Her  mother  was  feeble-minded  and  her  grand- 
mother also,  making  four  generations  of  feeble-minded  people. 
The  maternal  grandfather  was  tuberculous,  whether  normal  is  not 
known.  He  had  a  sister  who  was  feeble-minded.  She  married 
a  man  whose  condition  is  unknown,  but  they  have  four  feeble- 
minded children  out  of  nine,  while  only  one  of  the  nine  is  known  to 
have  been  normal.  The  mother  of  our  boy  was  so  defective 
that  she  could  not  remember  the  order  of  birth  of  her  own  chil- 
dren, nor  even  their  names.  Many  in  this  family  have  mal- 
formed feet. 


CHART   106 


D 


O 


ch-o  i555555ih-(§5n5b 


65S1^^5^^^55^5^5^ 


00 

k 

FANNY W. 

CASE  106.  FANNIE  W.  30  years  old.  Mentality  6.  Has  been  here 
17  years.  American  born,  father  French,  mother  American.  Said  to  have 
had  meningitis  and  cholera  infantum  at  two,  epilepsy  at  two  and  a  half ; 
has  had  measles,  whooping-cough,  scarlet  fever  and  diphtheria. 

When  admitted  at  the  age  of  thirteen,  it  is  recorded  :  ''nothing 
wrong  in  personal  appearance,  is  self  helpful,  can  do  general 
housework,  can  count  to  100,  knows  some  of  the  alphabet,  can- 
not learn  from  books."  After  admission  she  learned  to  read 
a  very  little.     In  the  cottage,  she  worked  only  when  watched  con- 


2  24  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

stantly,  but  has  improved  greatly ;  is  now  an  excellent  helper 
with  the  low  grade  girls.  If  not  watched,  she  is  hkely  to  use  the 
same  bucket  of  water  for  scrubbing  all  the  dormitories  or  as  far 
as  it  will  go.  Asked  to  wipe  the  floor  a  little  drier  when  she  is 
washing  it  up,  she  can  find  all  kinds  of  excuses  for  having  left 
it  wet.  She  often  talks  of  home  and  wishes  she  could  go  home, 
but  the  last  time  she  went,  she  cried  until  her  mother  had  to 
bring  her  back.  She  is  often  cheerful,  cranky  and  quarrel- 
some, but  generally  obedient,  restless  and  affectionate.  She 
has  had  a  broken  ear  drum  and  at  intervals  a  discharging 
ear,  but  at  present  is  rarely  ill.  She  has  no  special  stigmata 
of  degeneration. 

Both  her  parents  are  feeble-minded.  The  father  is  also 
alcoholic  and  has  a  feeble-minded  brother.  The  rest  of  his 
family  is  unknown.  Fannie  has  a  feeble-minded  sister.  The 
mother  is  one  of  a  large  family,  mental  condition  unknown. 
Several  of  them  have  married  and  have  children.  Their  condi- 
tion is  unknown. 

CASE  107.  ISAAC  X.  34  years  old.  Mentality  6.  Has  been  here  24 
years.  Condition  is  supposed  to  be  due  to  a  fall  at  the  age  of  four.  He 
had  a  spasm  from  being  struck  on  the  head ;  has  had  whooping-cough, 
diphtheria  and  scarlet  fever. 

Upon  admission  at  the  age  of  10,  his  speech  was  defective, 
memory  very  poor.  He  could  not  dress  himself,  was  unclean, 
dangerous  with  fire  and  could  not  be  trusted,  was  vulgar  and 
profane,  of  a  brutal  nature,  difficult  to  manage.  Under  the 
Institution  discipline,  he  has  steadily  improved ;  is  now  a  strong, 
healthy,  vigorous  Institution  worker  ;  drives  the  coal  teams.  He 
has  his  quarrelsome,  cranky  spells,  is  somewhat  sober,  but  is 
rather  quiet  and  obedient,  wiUing  and  tries ;  is  not  truthful  or 
honest ;  is  quick-tempered  and  forgetful.  He  is  a  cousin  to  Case 
30.     Comparison  of  the  charts  will  show  the  exact  relationship. 

The  father  is  feeble-minded  and  has  two  feeble-minded,  and 
two  normal,    brothers.     One  normal   brother  has   married  and 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY   6 


225 


has  normal  children  and  grandchild.  The  father  of  this 
family  was  a  normal  man  who  was  twice  married.  His  first 
wife  was  normal,  as  were  all  their  descendants.  The  second 
wife  was  feeble-minded ;  she  had  a  feeble-minded  brother, 
another  brother  undetermined;  the  latter  had  a  feeble-minded 
child. 


CHART  107 


(S> 


-^^^^fo^  cKSroS^f^ 


[5^WWS^K-<^S55 


k 


-@       N         EF  F 


Isaac's  mother  had  four  brothers,  one  of  whom  was  feeble- 
minded and  the  rest  undetermined.  One  of  them  at  least  had 
a  feeble-minded  child.  Of  the  grandparents  on  this  side,  the 
grandfather  was  normal  and  the  grandmother  feeble-minded. 
This  grandmother  had  an  illegitimate  child  who  was  feeble- 
minded and  was  the  mother  of  the  child  in  Case  30. 

CASE  108.  KARL  AND  PAULINA  C.  Karl  21  years  old.  Mentality  3. 
Has  been  here  12  years.  Paulina  19  years  old.  Mentality  5.  Has  been 
here  10  years.  American  born;  father  Russian,  mother  American.  Pauhna 
had  measles  at  the  age  of  two. 

Neither  of  these  children  has  been  able  to  learn  anything 
of  the  three  R's.  The  boy  is  good-natured  and  obedient, 
can  do  spool  knitting  and  can  also  knit  skating  caps  nicely; 
does  nothing  in  woodwork;  can  group  pegs  in  twos;  has 
worked  in  the  various  shops  and  departments;  with  the 
mason  and  in  the    barn;    at  present  helps  in  the  children's 

Q 


226 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


dining  room;  cannot  scrub  floors  well,  nor  wash  dishes,  but 
sets  the  table. 

His  sister  does  a  little  better.  She  can  crochet  and  do  some 
basket  work;  does  very  poorly  at  woodwork  but  her  sewing 
is  better  and  she  is  even  learning  to  use  the  machine.  She  does 
fair  housework  about  the  cottage. 

One  glance  at  the  family  chart  shows  the  hereditary  character 
of  the  defect  and  that  it  is  of  rather  low  grade.  The  paternal 
grandmother  left  her  husband,  after  they  had  been  married  a  year, 
because  she  discovered  that  he  was  defective.  Their  daughter, 
the  mother  of  our  children,  is  an  imbecile.     She  was  married 


CHART  108 


N>-Vd 


(Sy 


irr  HUSBAND    \  L^  \2HO  HUSBAND 

\l.»  HUSBAND  \ 


^         B 


N    N 


Mi's 


N)(N)CNXN)fN)(N^ 


iSis^Ti 


KARL   PAUUNA  C 


k  k 


mM  M 


off  in  the  hope  of  improving  her  condition ;  naturally  she  married 
a  feeble-minded  man  with  the  result  as  shown  in  their  children. 
It  is  noticeable  that  the  grandmother  alluded  to,  after  leaving  the 
defective  husband,  married  a  second  man  who  was  apparently 
normal  and  they  have,  so  far  as  can  be  learned,  only  normal 
children  and  grandchildren. 

CASE  109.  MINNIE  AND  FANNY  C.  (sisters).  American  born,  of 
American  parentage.  Minnie  14  years  old.  Mentality  5.  Has  been  here 
5  years.  Had  convulsions  at  the  age  of  3,  epilepsy  at  6,  measles  at  8. 
Fanny  9  years  old.  MentaHty  3.  Has  been  here  3  years.  Had  con- 
vulsion at  one  year ;  has  had  acute  dropsy. 


CASE  105,  HARRY  W.,  AGE  17.  MENTALLY  6. 
CASE  109,  FANNY  C,  AGE  9.  MENTALLY  3. 
CASE   109,    MINNIE   C,   AGE    14.     MENTALLY   5. 


HEREDITARY    GROUP.     MENTALITY   5 


227 


These  are  pretty  and  attractive  children  but  of  low  mentality. 
Minnie  has  probably  reached  her  limit  of  development.  She 
does  almost  nothing  in  the  kindergarten  or  in  any  school  work ; 
she  is  learning  to  do  simple  housework  and  is  making  quite 
marked  improvement  there  and  will  perhaps  make  a  useful  little 
Institution  helper. 

Fanny,  the  younger  sister,  will  quite  possibly  make  consider- 
able advancement  before  she  finally  ceases  to  develop.  She  is 
improving  physically  and  this  has  a  certain  reaction  upon  her 
mental  response  to  her  environment.     She  did  not  walk  until  she 


CHART  109 


lu 


€) 


& 


SPEECH  DETECT 


<2) 


'       /res.  SPEECH       I 

/     I  \V  DEFECT      \ 


<SS$5il  (S©&  (§h6 


was  four  years  old  but  now  walks  and  talks.     She  has  congenital 
recto- vaginal  fistula. 

This  is  a  defective  family  thruout.  The  father  and  mother 
are  both  feeble-minded;  a  brother  and  a  sister  of  these  chil- 
dren are  feeble-minded  and  epileptic,  and  are  in  an  epileptic  Home. 
Nearly  all  the  persons,  about  whom  it  has  been  possible  to 
learn,  are  either  feeble-minded  or  doubtful  cases  with  the  presump- 
tion in  favor  of  feeble-mindedness.  There  is  much  sexual  im- 
moraHty  and  illegitimacy.  There  are  more  or  less  physical 
stigmata,  of  which  the  one  mentioned  in  the  case  of  Fanny  is  an 
example. 


2  28  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

CHART   110 


MFiiRnrir  ""T^         "• 


Jt  .?.-  vniiu/-  <L  BABY  I.  ^^^        ^^ 


k 


CASE  no.  WILFRED  I.  24  years  old.  Mentality  5.  Has  been  here 
7  years.  American  born,  American  parents.  He  had  measles  and  whoop- 
ing-cough at  the  age  of  fourteen. 

This  is  a  middle  grade  imbecile  and  consequently  not  very 
trainable;  he  had  convulsions  at  the  age  of  nine  months, 
chorea  when  three  years  old  and  abscesses  in  his  throat  at  the 
same  time.  He  does  not  talk  but  understands  fairly  well  and 
tries  to  make  himself  understood.  For  a  boy  of  his  grade  he  is 
quite  helpful  about  the  cottage  and  outside ;  will  rake  leaves 
and  chop  wood.  Is  stoop-shouldered ;  in  height  and  weight  is 
about  equal  to  20  %  of  boys  of  his  age.  He  is  sometimes  stub- 
born but  usually  obedient.  Is  very  slow,  somewhat  obstinate, 
probably  has  no  idea  of  property  as  he  will  take  things  that  do 
not  belong  to  him. 

It  has  been  difficult  to  get  much  accurate  information  about 
his  family.  Wilfred  has  a  younger  sister  who  is  defective  and 
one  that  died  in  infancy.  The  mother  was  defective.  The  father 
was  alcohoKc  and  had  a  cancer.  His  mental  condition  is  un- 
determined. The  father's  older  brother  was  insane,  and  died  at 
an  Insane  Asylum.  Another  brother  had  a  family  of  eight  chil- 
dren three  of  whom  appear  to  be  normal;  four  others  are  un- 
determined ;  another  one  seems  to  be  defective  as  he  is  ten  years 
old  and  only  in  the  second  grade.  Another  brother  was  feeble- 
minded; two  younger  sisters  are  said  to  be  queer  and  erratic. 
In  general,  it  is  apparent  that  the  family  is  of  a  rather  low 
grade  mentaHty  and  of  very  poor  physical  constitution,  subject 
to  a  great  many  ills  and  ailments  not  found  in  better  stock. 


HEREDITARY    GROUP.     MENTALITY   5 

CHART   111  SECTION  1 


229 


D 


O 


"  e     HUsVaND  d.  "STROKE"    I         l—J  3 


(§5S©S5^ 


S©K)(§§S®5S 


1^5?) 


^  I         OEAFMOTE 


HUSBAND        3U 


OLD.    Bid.     »*»'' 


CHART    111  SECTION  I 

FOR  SIBS  SEE  SECTION  I 


n 


^^ro  ^>o   ckr^'^^ 


4©K)  1S0S&  <^hS3)  m 


CASE  III.  NANCY  I.  22  years  old.  Mentality  5.  Has  been  here  10 
years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  whooping-cough  at  one 
year,  cerebro-spinal  meningitis  at  two,  chicken-pox  at  four,  mumps  at 
eight. 

Nancy  is  a  typical  imbecile  of  the  middle  grade,  speaks  very 
poorly,  is  hard  to  understand ;  can  do  nothing  in  kindergarten, 
has  made  a  little  attempt  at  crocheting  and  basketry  and  does 
something  in  woodwork  but  with  no  permanent  success ;  ac- 
complishes nothing  whatever  with  English  lessons ;  is  at  present 
working  in  the  cottage  and  laundry  and  is  fairly  helpful. 


230 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


Nancy  belongs  to  a  family  of  morons ;  it  has  been  difficult  to 
find  a  normal  person  among  those  that  we  have  studied.  The 
hereditary  character  of  the  defect  is  certainly  clear. 

CASE  112.  URIAH  N.  1 8  years  old.  Mentality  5.  Been  here  9  years. 
American  born;  father  Swiss,  mother  American.  Assigned  cause  of  the 
condidon,  "  frightened  by  dull  nippers  at  the  time  of  his  first  hair  cut." 
The  child  had  measles  at  the  age  of  four  years. 

Uriah  is  a  cousin  of  Frank  in  Case  145  ;  is  a  much  higher  grade 
of  mentahty  but  is  not  nearly  so  intelligent  in  appearance.  At 
the  time  of  admission,  at  the  age  of  eight,  he  could  not  dress  him- 
self, had  never  been  to  school ;  was  excitable,  rude,  laughed  with- 
out cause ;  could  carry  in  coal  and  wood.  Under  training  he 
improved  greatly  and  learned  to  do  simple  kindergarten  work ; 
could  not  get  beyond  that,  except  a  little  basketry  and  knitting 
and  some  woodwork.  Was  finally  taken  out  of  the  school  de- 
partment on  account  of  nervousness.  Is  doing  good  housework 
and  errands;  is  cheerful,  active  and  obedient,  affectionate, 
somewhat  destructive  to  clothing,  somewhat  defective  in  speech. 

His  heredity  chart  is  given  under  Case  145. 

Uriah  is  the  third  born;  two  older  sisters  are  feeble-minded, 
two  younger  brothers  undetermined ;  the  latter  appear  normal 
—  more  than  that  we  cannot  say.  Uriah's  father  is  normal  and 
of  normal  parentage ;  the  mother  is  a  sister  of  Frank's  mother 
described  on  page  261. 

CASE  113.  JERRY  T.  46  years  old.  Mentality  5.  Has  been  here 
21  years.  American  born,  of  Irish  parents.  Has  had  measles  and  whoop- 
ing-cough. 

This  is  a  middle  grade  imbecile  who  has  the  appearance  of  an 
old  man.  He  is  prematurely  old.  He  is  a  httle  helpful  around 
the  cottage,  dressing  the  boys  and  doing  simple  errands  around 
the  house.  He  is  sometimes  troublesome  and  quarrelsome, 
at  other  times  rather  pleasant  and  good  natured.     One  of  his 


CASE  111,  NANCY  I.,  AGE  22.  MENTALLY  5. 
CASE  113,  JERRY  T.,  AGE  46.  MENTALLY  5. 
CASE   116,   NORMAN   D.,   AGE   9.     MENTALLY   4. 


HEREDITARY    GROUP.     MENTALITY   5 


231 


chief  occupations  is  playing  horse.     He  is  very  typical  for  his 
grade. 

He  is  one  of  ten  children,  three  were  stillborn,  at  least  one 
other  is  feeble-minded  and  the  mother  was  feeble-minded.     It 


CHART    113 


d^n-<S^^ 


UUSBAMD  9..  - 


6     nd    66& 


is  a  low  grade  family  thruout ;  undoubtedly  some  of  the  x)thers 
would  be  marked  defective  if  we  could  get  the  true  information. 


^ 


CHART   114 


O 


« CHILDREN                                I                      Idji""           I 
ALL  SAID  TO.                                                        f£  i 

BE  LAOUNC I 


l£ 


k 

lULEtt 

CASE  114.  WARREN  T.  25  years  old.  Mentality  5.  Has  been  here  17 
years.  American  born;  father  American,  mother  Scotch.  Had  diphtheria  at 
the  age  of  two,  whooping-cough  at  four,  measles  at  five,  scarlet  fever  at  eight. 
Assigned  cause  of  the  condition,  "  congenital  with  distress  of  the  mother." 

Upon  admission  at  the  age  of  eight,  Warren's  personal  appear- 
ance was  normal  but  he  did  nothing  for  himself;    would  eat 


232 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


anything  that  he  could  reach.  Under  training  he  did  a  Httle 
kindergarten  work  and  could  even  count  to  eleven  when  inclined ; 
learned  to  print  words  from  copy.  He  knows  colors  and  can 
lace  his  shoes,  can  tell  a  Httle  story  about  what  he  has  seen,  has 
never  learned  to  do  anything  more  than  a  Httle  scrubbing  of 
floors,  picking  up  trash  or  the  Hke. 

The  history  indicates  a  low  grade  family  thruout,  altho  it 
has  not  been  possible  to  get  sufficient  confirmation  to  enable 
us  to  mark  many  of  them  unquestionably  feeble-minded;  the 
probabiHty,  however,  is  very  high  that  many  are  actually  defec- 
tive. There  is  epilepsy  as  weU  as  alcohoHsm  and  sexual  im- 
moraHty  in  the  family. 


CHART    115 


2d.  2         ^^  <!•  /  "*•  NEUROTIC  ^-        ^^ 


i  i 


CASE  115.  KONRAD  C.  39  years  old.  Mentality  4.  Has  been  here 
20  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Assigned  cause,  "  con- 
genital—  mother  has  always  been  neurotic  and  nervous."  He  has  had 
spasms,  measles,  whooping-cough  and  inflammation  of  the  lungs. 

Konrad  is  a  low  grade  imbecile,  his  defect  showing  at  the 
age  of  two.  He  talks  fairly  distinctly  and  is  a  fairly  useful 
Institution  helper ;  does  laundry  work,  scrubs,  cleans  and 
works  in  the  kitchen ;  is  cheerful  and  very  helpful  with  Httle 
children. 

The  family  chart  shows  very  clearly  the  hereditary  character 
of  the  defect  on  both  the  father's  and  the  mother's  side.  Three 
of  this  family  have  been,  or  are,  in  Institutions  at  public  expense. 
Konrad's  brother  died  at  the  Training  School. 


d 


HEREDITARY  GROUP.     MENTALITY  4  233 

CASE  116.  NORMAN  D.  9  years  old.  Mentality  4.  Has  been  here 
3  years.     American  born,  nationality  of  parents  unknown. 

This  is  a  pleasant,  cheerful  little  fellow  of  the  low  grade  im- 
becile type.  He  does  not  talk  distinctly  or  much,  but  seems  to 
be  improving  somewhat  in  his  speech.  He  came  here  from  an 
Almshouse  where,  it  is  said,  he  had  been  tied  to  a  post  much  of  the 
time.  He  is  affectionate,  attractive,  understands  a  command, 
is  obedient;  has  poor  memory;  fair  imitation  and  attention; 
is  doing  simple  kindergarten  work  and  is  making  some  progress. 
His  Binet  test  shows  real  improvement  in  two  years.  He  cannot 
yet  make  comparisons  either  with  the  Knes  or  with  the  three  and 
twelve  grams.     He 

CHART  116 

can  copy  a  square 
and  repeat  a  sen- 
tence of  ten  sylla- 
bles; cannot  count  gTggcA 
four  pennies;  does 
the  game  of  pa- 
tience ;  his  time 
sense  is  not  devel-  •    H  H 

oped,   he  does  not  I 

■^  NORMAN  D. 

know  whether  it  is 

morning  or  afternoon ;  his  definitions  are  poor ;  can  do  the  three 
simple  commissions ;  does  not  know  his  right  hand  nor  his  left 
ear ;   cannot  choose  the  prettier  of  the  faces. 

His  family  chart,  so  far  as  we  have  been  able  to  get  knowledge 
of  the  family,  is  thoroly  bad,  there  not  being  a  known  normal 
person  on  it,  while  the  feeble-minded  are  scattered  thru  three 
generations. 

Here  again  are  two  instances  of  a  feeble-minded  mother  and  an 
alcoholic  father  having  defective  children  and  those  that  died 
young;  no  normals  in  either  group.  Norman's  father  was  al- 
coholic, sexually  immoral,  criminalistic  and  very  probably  feeble- 
minded.    He  has  a  brother  who  is  feeble-minded  but  is  in  a 


SEPARATED  ^  3  ypg        <l  4  6  VRS.4  g  VRS 


^i6ii6ii© 


234 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

Thus  two  of  this  family  are  public 


hospital  for   the  insane, 
charges. 

Norman  is  the  only  living  child.  The  first  was  a  miscarriage 
and  the  last  died  at  two  and  a  half  years.  The  mother  had  a 
feeble-minded  brother.  Their  mother  was  feeble-minded,  their 
father  was  alcohoHc  and  spoken  of  as  a  notorious  character. 

Norman  gives  a  positive  Wassermann  reaction. 


JNIentality  4.     Has  been  here 
Has  had  measles  and  whoop- 


CASE  117.     KESTER  I.     28  years  old. 
7  years.     Born  in  Russia,  of  Russian  parents, 
ing-cough ;  condition  said  to  be  congenital. 

Kester  is  a  cheerful  imbecile  of  low  grade,  has  a  humpback 
but  is  a  good  worker  so  far  as  his  strength  and  mentahty  permit. 

He  is  obedient 
and  truthful  ; 
can  scrub  floors 
nicely. 

The    family 


CHART    117 


666'  "li'  [nf 


HARRIED  HER    BOTH  D.  YOUKO 
UNCLE  HAS 
2  CHILDREN 


'f-m9 


I  I 

(S)[n1(n)   ElO 


chart  shows 
clearly  the  he- 
reditary char- 
acter of  the  con- 
dition.   Besides 

BADT 

mental  defect 
there  is  some  insanity  on  the  mother's  side.  We  have  not 
been  able  to  get  a  complete  record  because  of  the  foreign  origin 
of  this  family. 

Kester  was  detained  at  Castle  Garden  on  entering  the  United 
States.  Later,  when  Castle  Garden  burned,  he  was  allowed  to 
pass  thru  because  they  had  no  place  to  detain  him. 

CASE  118.  FANNY  I.,  MOLLIE  I.  (Sisters.)  Fannie  13  years  old. 
Mentality  4.  Has  been  here  5  years,  ^lollie  10  years  old.  Mentality  i. 
Came  at  the  same  time.  American  born  ;  mother  English,  father  probably 
American. 


HEREDITARY  GROUP.     MENTALITY  4 


235 


These  are  two  interesting  children  of  the  t>pe  that  makes 
parents,  teachers  and  others  unfamihar  with  defectives  hold  on 
to  the  hope  as  long  as  possible  that  they  will  "come  out  all  right." 
However,  there  is  no  longer  any  hope  for  either  of  these  children. 
The  older  one  tests  only  four,  and  the  younger  only  one.  They 
have  made  no  appreciable  improvement  in  mentality  in  five  years. 
The  older  one  has  learned  to  do  a  few  things.  Other  things  she 
seems  to  have  forgotten.     She  has,  for  instance,  learned  to  iron 


A 

D 


CHART  118 


o 


D 


O 


D 


(Jm  JBT  \  NOT  MARRIED r-j  I 

^^^ \  MAY  NOT  ALL  BE  THE  CHILDREN  OF  THE  HUSBAWP  I 

<n)         00^  (n)©©  •  ©©6lSl©H 

h         k 

FANNY  L  MOLLIE  I. 

an  apron,  but  has  forgotten  how  to  help  make  a  bed.  Upon  ad- 
mission the  older  one  could  say  a  few  words  only,  the  younger  one 
neither  talked  nor  walked.  They  have  improved  a  little  in  this 
particular.  The  older  one  can  now  talk  a  httle ;  the  younger 
one  knows  a  few  words  and  can  walk.  They  have  probably 
reached  their  Hmit  of  mentality  and  nearly  their  Hmit  of  train- 
abihty. 

These  are  two  of  six  living  children;  the  mother  is  feeble- 
minded, epileptic  and  sexually  immoral.  They  are  supposed 
to  be  the  children  of  the  same  father,  who  is  feeble-minded; 
but  of  this  there  is  more  than  a  doubt  on  account  of  the  character 
of  the  mother.  Indeed  there  is  strong  suspicion  that  these  two 
sisters  are  only  half  sisters.  The  reputed  father  of  MolHe  is  the 
father  of  three  other  defectives,  by  another  feeble-minded  woman. 


236 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


On  the  whole,  it  is  a  very  low  grade  family  socially,  promiscuous 
in  their  sexual  relations  and  more  or  less  alcoholic,  thoroly  irre- 
sponsible. Certainly  all  of  those  in  the  immediate  family  should 
be  cared  for  and  not  allowed  to  live  a  Hfe  of  freedom  and  im- 
morality. 


CHART  119 


(STITUTE 

^<*  I  >N  2N    , 

>&  3U  2U  / 


-— -_  PROSTITUTE  «,r«rn.n»pn  ^^ 


PROSTITUTE 


d  B 


WAS  COLORED 


^  aBl  (2)(b(b 


lUeaiTIMATC 


CASE  119.  DELIA  I.  25  years  old.  Mentality  4.  Has  been  here  18 
years.  American  born;  father  of  unknown  nationality,  mother  American. 
Had  measles  and  chicken-pox  at  the  age  of  four. 

DeHa  is  a  low  grade  girl  and  has  the  usual  history  of  a  child 
of  her  grade.  Upon  admission  at  the  age  of  six  there  was  noth- 
ing remarkably  peculiar  about  her;  her  speech  was  defective, 
memory  fair.  She  could  not  dress  nor  undress  herself ;  did  not 
know  the  alphabet ;  was  fond  of  music.  She  was  placed  in  the 
kindergarten  and  did  the  simple  exercises  well ;  gradually  how- 
ever, she  fell  behind  the  class  and  at  first  it  was  said  ''oftentimes 
pretended  she  did  not  know  when  she  probably  did."  Not 
until  she  was  twelve  was  it  reported  that  she  could  dress  and  un- 
dress herself ;  was  very  nervous,  would  sing  with  others  but  not 
alone ;  could  count  to  eight  at  that  time. 

Since  then  there  has  been  very  Httle  change.  She  gradually 
gave  up  the  book  work  and  was  put  to  industrial  work  where  she 
has  learned  to  make  beds  nicely  and  to  help  in  the  general  house- 
work. Her  chief  characteristic  is  talking,  of  which  she  does  a 
great  deal,  mostly  very  simple  and  fooHsh.     She  is  said  to  have 


CASE    118,   MOLLIE   I.,   AGE   10.         MENTALLY   1. 
CASE   119,    DELIA   L,   AGE   25.  MENTALLY   4. 

CASE   120,    CHARLIE   M.,   AGE   26.     MENTALLY  4. 


HEREDITARY  GROUP.      MENTALITY  4  237 

gotten  very  silly,  on  one  occasion,  over  a  young  lady  visitor  who 
admired  her  curls.  She  is  cheerful,  affectionate  and  good- 
tempered  ;  is  truthful  and  obedient.  She  is  small  of  stature, 
being  as  tall  and  heavy  as  about  ten  per  cent  of  normal  children 
of  her  age.  Sometimes  it  takes  her  a  minute  and  a  half  to  do  the 
form  board,  making  many  absurd  mistakes  with  some  of  the 
blocks  while  other  blocks  are  put  in  their  proper  places  promptly. 

Her  family  chart  shows  unmistakably  the  hereditary  character 
of  her  defect  and  also  the  very  low  grade  character  of  the  various 
individuals. 

Delia's  mother  is  in  an  Institution  for  the  feeble-minded  and 
the  mother's  sister  is  the  keeper  of  a  disreputable  house  in  a 
New  Jersey  town ;  she  passes  for  a  normal  woman ;  she  has  an 
illegitimate  daughter  who  was  married  at  eighteen  to  a  man  who 
had  no  occupation.  This  daughter  has  had  two  miscarriages 
and  was  operated  on  for  a  "loathsome  disease."  She  is  now 
divorced  but  the  man  still  calls  upon  her.  Her  mother  tells,  with 
much  pride,  that  the  daughter  has  two  chances  as  soon  as  the 
divorce  papers  are  signed,  and  she  is  now  engaged  to  one  of  the 
two  men.  She  is  an  energetic  woman  and  her  home  is  clean  and 
neat.  An  uncle  of  the  mother  died  in  the  Trenton  Insane 
Hospital ;  a  cousin  of  the  mother,  a  woman,  is  sexually  immoral 
and  criminalistic,  and  is  in  an  Institution  at  state  expense. 

The  following  taken  from  a  Newark  daily  paper  relates  to 
another  cousin  of  Delia's  mother;  whether  such  a  girl  can  be 
called  feeble-minded  may  reasonably  be  questioned,  but  some- 
thing is  surely  wrong  with  her  development  and  she  belongs  to  a 
family  where  there  is  much  defectiveness. 

"Miss and  Miss of  this  city,  who  have  been  missing 

from  their  homes  for  the  past  three  weeks,  were  found  on 
Wednesday  night  in  a  cheap  dance  hall,  on  W Street,  Newark. 

"  On  being  arraigned,  they  admitted  that  they  had  given  wrong 
names.  They  then  gave  their  correct  names,  but  said  that  their 
parents  knew  they  were  in  Newark. 


238 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


''  This  was  untrue,  as  the  parents  of  both  girls  have  been  search- 
ing for  them  since  they  ran  away  from  home  three  weeks  ago. 
Their  disappearance  was  reported  to  the  local  poHce. 

"Both  girls  are  well  educated.      Miss is  a  graduate  of 

W Business  College,  and  is  an  expert  driver  of  automobiles." 


CHART  120 


4.4Wo  ^xfi, 


N]66i^ 


CASE  120.  CHARLIE  M.  26  years  old.  JNIentality  4.  Has  been  here 
14  years.  Born  in  England;  father  German,  mother  Polish.  Had  whooping- 
cough  at  the  age  of  4  and  scarlet  fever  and  measles  at  8 ;  has  brachy- 
dactylism,  web  feet  and  hands. 

This  is  a  dwarf  of  low  mentality ;  could  not  talk  until  he  was 
seven  ;  never  has  been  able  to  do  much  school  work,  is  not  clean, 

eats  with  his  lingers,  can- 
not dress  himself. 

In  the  school  department, 
he  learned  to  put  pegs  in 
the  board,  learned  some 
colors  and  could  count  to 
10.  He  is  now  somewhat 
helpful  in  the  cottage  in 
dressing  the  other  boys  and 
helping  with  the  beds.  One 
leg  has  been  amputated, 
but,  with  the  aid  of  a 
crutch,  he  gets  around  surprisingly  well  on  the  one  that  is  left. 
He  is  cheerful,  though  cranky,  quarrelsome  and  stubborn ; 
sometimes  destructive  of  clothing  and  mischievous.  His  mem- 
ory is  poor. 

This  case  is  a  striking  example  showing  how  our  immigration 
laws  have  failed  to  protect  us.  Here  are  two  feeble-minded 
parents  who  should  never  have  been  allowed  to  land  in  this 
country.  They,  with  their  children,  have  given  us  five,  probably 
six,  defective  persons  to  take  care  of.  It  is  true  this  was  some 
years  ago  and  our  facihties  for  detecting  such  cases  were  not  as 
good  as  now.     This  boy  in  particular  would  to-day  be  held  up 


HEREDITARY  GROUP.      MENTALITY  4 


239 


because  of  his  physical  stature,  but  the  parents  would  probably 
get  by,  as  they  did  when  they  came.  Such  cases  will  continue 
to  enter  our  country  until  Congress  provides  the  means  for  expert 
examiners  and  testers  for  these  high  grade  mental  defectives. 

This  is  also  an  illustration  of  the  way  in  which  consanguinity 
produces  defectives.  The  parents  were  first  cousins,  but  they 
were  also  feeble-minded.  Feeble-mindedness  of  the  children  has 
therefore  no  necessary  connection  with  the  relationship  of  the 
parents. 

CHART  121 

I  '1  i«T  WIFE  2N0  Wire       ' 


NORHAN  T.  1 

INCORKICIBLE  I 

o 


ILLECITIfclATE 


CASE  121.  NORMAN  T.  21  years  old.  Mentality  4.  Has  been  here 
7  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  measles  at  the  age  of 
seven,  whooping-cough  at  eight.  Assigned  cause  of  the  condition,  "  too 
strong  medicine  given  for  peculiar  crying  spells." 

This  is  an  ordinary  type  of  imbecility.  Norman  had  been  in 
public  school  before  coming  here ;  never  achieved  anything  with 
the  three  R's;  speech  imperfect,  had  no  knowledge  of  color  or 
form.  Can  do  only  the  simplest  or  roughest  work ;  can  use  a 
saw  and  plane ;   can  knit  a  little  but  very  poorly. 

The  family  history  is  unequivocal  on  the  question  of  the 
heredity  of  the  feeble-mindedness.  The  father  was  defective 
and  probably  syphilitic,  according  to  the  testimony  of  the  phy- 
sician;  the  mother  was  ''bad"  and  evidently  belonged  to  a  de- 
fective family,  since  her  sister,  altho  she  married  a  normal  man, 
bore  five  feeble-minded  sons.  One  of  Norman's  sisters  was  in- 
corrigible in  school. 


240 


FEEBLE-IVaNDEDNESS 


CASE  122.  KARL  V.  17  years  old.  Mentality  4.  Has  been  here  6 
years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  convulsions  at  five 
months,  measles  at  three  years,  diphtheria  at  eight  years,  whooping-cough 
at  nine, 

Karl  is  a  low  grade  imbecile,  talks  indistinctly  but  much; 
understands  a  command,  has  learned  to  count  to  ten  with  help ; 
can  write  neatly  from  copy ;  did  a  little  woodwork  at  one  time  ; 

always  cheerful 

/// 
■<N) 


CHART   122 


6K> 


o 


and  helpful. 
He  is  a  good  boy 
but  requires 
watching;  is 
contented  and 
happy  but  in- 
clined to  be  sly ; 
does  no  work  of 
any  conse- 
quence ;    can 

scrub  or  rub  things  a  little  if  constantly  watched  and  kept  at 
it ;  does  not  care  much  for  his  parents ;  has  bad  habits. 

The  hereditary  factor  is  clearly  evident  in  the  family  chart. 
An  older  sister  was  considered  normal  but  ran  away  from  home 
to  be  married.  A  younger  sister  is  defective ;  a  younger  brother 
is  reported  normal. 


^"^  KARL  V  2  2  NOS.  MENINGITIS 


hS) 


CASE  123.  FANNIE  C.  14  years  old.  MentaUty  3.  Has  been  here 
6  years.  American  born,  of  German  parentage.  The  child  had  convul- 
sions at  three  weeks.  Her  defect  showed  at  one  year.  Assigned  cause, 
consanguinity  of  the  parents. 

She  is  a  very  low  grade  child  with  probably  physical  difficulties 
added  to  the  mental ;  can  dress  and  undress  herself  with  help ; 
understands  simple  commands ;  is  quite  cheerful  and  affection- 
ate, but  restless ;  very  destructive  and  nervous.  In  kindergarten 
can  do  nothing  more  than  string  a  few  beads.     Does  not  seem 


HEREDITARY  GROUP.     MENTALITY  3 


241 


to  be  making  any  progress  and  it  is  not  likely  that  she  will 
improve. 

The  father  is  feeble-minded  and  had  two  normal  brothers  and 
a  normal  sister.  Their  father  was  normal  and  the  mother 
tuberculous.     The  mother  had  a  feeble-minded  half  brother  and 


CHART  123 


C^^l^ 


(55^SqWS'6^4k§WSS0S 


H©0 


two  sisters  that  were  tuberculous.  One  of  these  sisters  was  the 
grandmother  of  our  Fannie,  thus  making  Fannie's  parents 
cousins. 

The  mother  of  Fannie  is  normal  and  has  five  normal  brothers 
and  sisters.  One  of  these  married  and  had  two  children,  one  of 
whom  is  normal  and  the  other  undetermined. 


CASE  124.  MOLLIE  E.  16  years  old.  Mentality  3.  Has  been  here 
10  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Child  had  measles  at 
five  years ;  has  had  rickets. 

MolHe  is  a  low  grade  imbecile,  varies  very  little,  is  sometimes 
hard  to  manage ;  is  cheerful,  affectionate,  excitable,  quick-tem- 
pered. She  is  untrainable  except  in  a  few  simple  matters,  tries 
to  help  a  httle  but  cannot  do  anything  significant. 

MolHe  belongs  to  a  notorious  tribe  of  defectives  and  degener- 
ates, a  full  history  of  which  will  be  pubUshed  later. 


242 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


CHART  124 


RADIOSIBS 
2  AT  LEAST 

BEING  FEEBLE  MINDED 
AND  A  HOST  OF 
F.  H.  DESCENDANTS 


■^^  MnnnN  7 


i 


We  give  here  something  of  the  immediate  family  to  show  its 
generally  defective  character. 


CHART    125 


D 


O 


O 


^^  d  ^^^     IN  CALIFORNIA        <L  <J.  ^^     ^^ 


(§m^(^^^^^.®  ' 


CASE  125.     JOHN  E.     15  years  old.     Mentality  3.    Has  been  here  4 

years.  American  born,  father  American,  mother  Irish.  Had  whooping- 
cough  at  the  age  of  four ;  has  had  chicken-pox.  The  child  was  born  about 
three  weeks  prematurely.  The  mother's  theory  refers  to  an  episode  with  a 
half-witted  boy  which  excited  her.  John  did  not  open  his  eyes  for  two  weeks 
after  he  was  born.  The  defect  showed  at  three  years ;  he  fell  out  of  a 
carriage  at  that  age  and  was  very  quiet  for  a  few  days. 

Upon  admission  at  the  age  of  eleven,  he  partially  understood 
a  command,  could  help  dress  himself  ;  was  inclined  to  throw 
things   about;    cried   without   cause.     Since   coming  here   the 


HEREDITARY  GROUP.     MENTALITY  3 


243 


child  has  changed  Httle ;  has  had  his  tonsils  and  adenoids  re- 
moved, but  still  keeps  his  mouth  open.  He  talks  some  but  not 
distinctly ;  goes  to  school  but  does  very  little  there ;  is  silent, 
sober,  cheerful,  sensitive,  affectionate. 

The  family  chart,  while  very  incomplete,  shows  clearly  the 
hereditary  taint.  An  older  sister  is  feeble-minded;  an  older 
brother  has  been  in  a  Reformatory  and,  very  likely,  is  also  feeble- 
minded. Two  older  sisters  are  questionably  normal ;  two  others 
died  in  infancy.  The  mother  is  feeble-minded  and  alcoholic. 
Her  four  brothers  are  undetermined,  two  of  them  being  in  the 
wxst.     A  cousin  of  the  mother's  is  on  Blackwell's  Island. 

CASE  126.  BENNIE  AND  ISAAC  G.  (Brothers.)  American  born; 
father  German,  mother  American.  Bennie  is  21  years  old.  Mentality  3. 
Has  been  here  9  years.  Had  measles  at  the  age  of  nine  and  whooping- 
cough  at  three.  Isaac  is  17  years  old.  MentaHty  2.  Has  been  here  9 
years.     Has  had  whooping-cough  and  had  measles  at  five. 

These  brothers  who  came  to  the  School  at  the  same  time  are  of 
low  grade  type  and  have  many  stigmata  of  degeneration.     They 


CHART  126  SECTION  i 


D 


o 


D 


A       V 


•<§WW5©SS£^  (§H 


n-r-(S^S©S^S2)  (^5S©5i 


BENNIE  C.  ISAAC  C. 

i      i 


244 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


CHART  126  SECTION  3 
I 


N]    [n](n)(n)(^^ 


are  low  grade  imbeciles,  the  older  testing  about  a  year  higher 
than  the  younger,  altho  the  younger  is  the  better  looking 
of  the  two.  Their  defect  has  existed  from  birth  and  was  rec- 
ognized as  congenital. 

A  glance  at  the  chart  shows  that  it  is  more  than  congenital ; 
it  is  truly  hereditary.  Altho  the  mother  was  normal  and  the 
father's  condition  is  undetermined,  it  will  be  seen  that  there  is 
a  great  deal  of  defect  in  collateral  branches  of  this  family,  which 
would  indicate  the  hereditary  character  of  the  taint. 


2  2   years  old.     Mentality  3.     Has  been 
father  American,  mother  Irish. 


CASE   127.     KARL   G. 
14  years.     American  born 

At  the  time  of  admission,  he  was  about  seven  years  old 


here 


could 


CHART   127 

n-r-o 


&Sh 


^ 


partially  dress  himself,  was 
obedient,  speech  somewhat  de- 
fective, knew  sone  colors; 
had  the  habit  of  wandering 
away,  was  not  clean  and  had 
bad  habits ;  learned  to  do  a 
Httle  kindergarten  work  and 
to  count  to  nine.  For  a  year 
or  two  it  was  thought  he  was 


CASE  122,  KARL  V.,  AGE  17.  MENTALLY  4. 
CASE  127,  KARL  G.,  AGE  22.  MENTALLY  3. 
CASE  131,  GEORGE  N.,  AGE  26.  MENTALLY  3. 


HEREDITARY  GROUP.     MENTALITY  3 


245 


improving  decidedly,  but  then  he  stopped.  He  does  a  Httle 
work  about  the  cottage,  but  is  untrustworthy  and  untruthful, 
excitable,   thieving,   destructive  and  mischievous. 

Altho  we  have  been  unable  to  find  many  members  of  his 
family,  those  that  we  have  found  are  practically  all  defective, 
extending  over  three  generations.  Both  parents  are  feeble- 
minded, the  father  is  also  alcohohc  and  the  paternal  grandmother 
is  feeble-minded.  The  father  married  a  second  wife  who  was 
feeble-minded  and  had  several  children.  He  is  very  much  of 
a  vagabond.  Several  of  these  people  have  been  in  almshouses, 
and  others  a  considerable  burden  upon  private  charity  —  alto- 
gether a  very  miserable  lot. 


CHART  128 


ALL  THREE  UNDERSIZED 


COTI^^hS 


rAMlLY  LOST  TRACK  OF 


OLnANC.     I  I  UNDERSIZED  ^.'SJ 


D 


BABY      BABY 


6^m^?3 


CASE  128.  KOLMAN  G.  31  years  old.  Mentality  nearly  4.  Has 
been  here  17  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Supposed  cause 
of  condition,  "  convulsions  from  teething."  Had  convulsions  at  the  age  of 
ten  months ;  has  also  had  measles. 

Kolman  is  a  wheel-chair  case,  not  being  able  to  walk  on  ac- 
count of  atrophy  of  the  leg  muscles.  He  talks  a  great  deal  and  is 
apt  to  be  very  obstinate,  stubborn  and  abusive,  sometimes  using 
profane  language  to  a  shocking  degree.  He  feeds  himself  and 
understands  a  command  but  will  not  obey.  On  account  of  his 
age  when  admitted  and  because  of  his  crippled  condition  he  has 
never  been  trained  to  do  anything. 

The  family  chart  shows  the  true  cause  of  his  condition  to  be 


246 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


heredity.  His  mother's  family,  at  least,  was  clearly  defective 
and  one  would  guess  that  probably  the  father's  was  also.  This 
particular  boy  would  never  have  been  dangerous  socially  on  ac- 
count of  his  physical  defect  and  probably  because  of  his  very  low 
mentaHty.  His  brothers  and  sisters,  however,  are  at  large. 
Two  brothers  have  married  and  so  there  is  undoubtedly  a  good 
deal  of  contamination  from  the  defect  in  this  family.  On  the 
mother's  side  there  is  also  a  tendency  to  dwarfness  which  seems 
to  be  somewhat  transmitted,  some  of  Kolman's  brothers  being 
decidedly  undersized. 


CHART  129 


D 


D 


Q 


(KiSHS^^T— <SSS§^^ 


l^rSTJSlTSWii 


CASE  129.  FRITZ  L.  15  years  old.  Mentality  3.  Has  been  here  7 
years.  American  born,  of  German  parents.  Had  spasms  at  the  age  of 
twelve  ;  condition  is  said  to  be  congenital,  supposed  to  be  dufe  to  the  father's 
alcohohc  habits. 

This  is  clearly  a  case  of  hereditary  feeble-mindedness  as  is 
evident  from  a  glance  at  the  chart.  It  is  apparently  compHcated 
or  made  a  Httle  worse,  by  the  neurotic  condition  on  the  father's 
side. 


CASE  130.  WARREN  M.  22  years  old.  MentaUty  4  nearly.  Has 
been  here  1 2  years.  American  born ;  father  German,  mother  American.  Had 
whooping-cough  at  the  age  of  two  ;  diphtheria  at  three  and  a  half ;  spasms 
while  teething.  His  defect  was  noticed  at  the  age  of  six  months.  He 
weighed  eighteen  pounds  at  birth.  His  condition  is  attributed  to  a  fall  the 
mother  had  in  the  seventh  month  of  pregnancy. 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY   3  247 

This  boy  is  a  low  grade  imbecile,  appearing  much  younger 
than  he  is,  probably  due  to  his  small  stature ;  he  is  only  as  tall 
as  ten  per  cent  of  the  children  of  his  age.  Warren  is  a  pleasant 
faced,  good  natured  boy  with  few,  if  any,  external  evidences  of 
his  defect.  He  talks  very  Httle  and  indistinctly  at  that.  He  is 
rather  typical  of  his  grade,  not  able  to  do  much,  some  very 
simple  errands  and  outside  work,  does  not  show  much  interest 
in  anything ;  has  learned  to  set  up  ten  pins  and  will  roll  the  ball ; 
can  do  a  Uttle  kindergarten  work,  loiows  colors ;  will  sometimes 


D 


<5ii 


CHART  130 


€i 


[5M5^T^Ti^f,^WS;5^^^^ 


(n)In][n|        d^J^i    i    i   (t)(N)lN]i 


rA<A% 


^t 


remember  things  a  long  time,  but  generally  forgets  them  im- 
mediately. On  one  occasion  he  had  been  given  a  number  of  dif- 
ferent tests  in  the  laboratory  and  the  following  day  he  appeared, 
of  his  own  accord  and  went  through  in  pantomime  all  that  he 
had  been  asked  to  do  the  day  before,  remembering  even  to  the 
manner  of  movement. 

The  family  chart  shows  clearly  the  hereditary  nature  of  the 
defect  and  the  generally  bad  condition. 

The  father  is  normal  and  we  know  of  no  defect  in  his  family. 
The  half  dozen  cases  of  miscarriage  that  the  paternal  grand- 
mother had,  look  suspicious,  especially  as  the  mother  is  reported 
to  have  had  queer   notions ;    there  may  be  a  defect  here  also. 

The  mother  of  Warren  was  feeble-minded  and  belonged  to  a 
defective  family.     Her  father  was  feeble-minded  and  alcoholic. 


248 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


her  mother  is  questionable.  We  have  in  this  family  an  illustra- 
tion of  what  is  no  uncommon  occurrence  —  a  sister  of  Warren's 
mother  was  seduced  by  a  normal  man  and  they  had  a  defective 
child.  This  is,  of  course,  the  common  danger  in  allowing  such 
girls  to  be  at  liberty. 


CHART    131 


«  5 


6^ 


■"V  3YRS.  . 

CEORG£  N. 

CASE  131.  GEORGE  N.  26  years  old.  Mentality  3.  Has  been  here 
13  years.  American  born,  of  Irish  parents.  Instruments  were  used  at 
birth,  but  the  physician  assures  us  that  this  was  not  the  cause  of  the  condi- 
tion. Epilepsy  developed  at  the  age  of  six  days  and  he  has  had  measles 
and  whooping-cough.  He  had  a  fall  on  the  floor  at  four  days  and  the  con- 
vulsions developed  two  days  later. 

George  came  here  at  the  age  of  thirteen ;  he  walked  with 
choreic  movements,  could  not  button  his  clothes,  was  heedless 
of  danger.  He  has  improved  in  conduct  and  health ;  can  do 
considerable  work  and  is  quite  helpful  about  the  cottage ;  does 
not  talk ;  is  very  quick-tempered  and  excitable,  inclined  to  be 
thieving. 

This  is  a  clear  case  of  hereditary  feeble-mindedness  and  the 
interesting  point  is  that  it  has  clearly  been  transmitted  thru 
the  male  line,  for  while  we  do  not  know  but  that  some  of  the  wives 
may  have  been  feeble-minded  also,  yet,  whatever  the  mentahty 
of  the  wives,  there  were  always  feeble-minded  children.  For 
instance,  George's  father  was  twice  married  and  had  defective 
children  by  both  wives ;    George's  uncle  had  a  family  of  defec- 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY   3 


249 


tives ;  George's  grandfather  had,  by  another  wife,  at  least  two 
defectives,  the  others  being  undetermined.  Altogether  it  is  a 
very  low  grade  defective  family. 

George's  Wassermann  reaction  is  positive. 


[N}-r-0 


CHART    132 


I  APOPLEXYCANCER  PARALyI 

4  i  6  N.  CHILDREN  PARALYS 


f 


EH  iroSW^ 


CASE  132.  NORA  T.  13  years  old.  Mentality  3.  Has  been  here  i^ 
years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  measles  at  four  years, 
whooping-cough  at  seven;  had  slight  eczema  and  pneumonia.  Assigned 
cause,  "  congenital  and  insufficient  nourishment." 

Nora  is  not  an  unattractive  child  in  appearance  but  is  of  low 
grade  ;  can  walk,  but  does  not  run  nor  jump  ;  is  clumsy  and  awk- 
ward in  the  use  of  her  hands  ;  cannot  dress  nor  undress  herself  ; 
counts  to  ten  but  cannot  apply  it.  She  seems  to  be  happy  and 
has  improved  since  coming  to  the  School,  but  she  does  noth- 
ing for  herself. 

The  family  chart  undoubtedly  shows  the  hereditary  character 
of  the  defect,  it  being  recessive  in  the  father's  family.  Nora's 
grandfather,  however,  was  clearly  feeble-minded,  and  he  had  a 
brother  whose  mental  condition  could  not  be  determined  but 
who  had  a  feeble-minded  son.  On  the  mother's  side  Nora's 
great  grandmother  was  insane,  and   we  shall  have  to  consider 


250 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


that,  the  father  and  mother  both  being  normal,  the  feeble- 
mindedness in  the  father's  family  and  the  insanity  in  the 
mother's  brought  about  this  result  in  the  case  of  Nora. 

CASE  133.     QUENTIN  A.     14  years  old.    Mentality  3.    Has  been  here 
7  years.     American  born;  father  American,  mother  a  foreigner. 

Quentin  is  a  low 


CHART  133 


o 


<N) 


Ehr-O 


en- 


rsiMih^H^m^ 


grade  child 
tirely  un  trainable ; 
his  defect  was 
noticed  soon  after 
birth  and  was 
thought  to  be  due 
to  a  fright  the 
mother  had  two 
■  months  before  he 

QUENTOtA. 

was  bom. 
A  glance  at  the  chart,  however,  shows  the  unmistakably  he- 
reditary character  from  both  sides  of  the  family. 

CHART   134 


s 


^ 


I  PARALYSIS  PARALYSIS  *  * 


Or^^San"^    m 


(§Gi 


m 


CASE  134.  FRANK  A.  17  years  old.  Mentality  3.  Has  been  here 
I  year.  American  born;  father  German,  mother  American.  Had  measles 
at  eight  years,  whooping-cough  at  ten.  Supposed  cause,  "  careless  handling 
by  trained  nurse  the  first  week  o£  his  life." 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.      MENTALITY    2 


251 


Frank  has  no  bodily  deformity  except  an  awkward  walk ;  goes 
up  and  down  stairs  normally ;  his  articulation  is  poor  ;  had  been 
in  school  a  great  deal  but  never  could  accomplish  anything; 
could  not  even  help  himself. 

A  glance  at  the  chart  shows  at  once  that  the  condition  is  hered- 
itary in  the  mother's  family.  We  also  have  here  another  case 
of  twins  with  one  normal  and  the  other  feeble-minded. 


6h 


SOMEWHERE    2NO 
IN  PINES         MuaB«ND 
HAS  IS  CHILDREN 


CHART  135 


'BY  THIS  HUSBAND 
ONE  NORMAL  DAUGHTER 
AND  FOUR  GENERATIONS 
OF  NORMAL 
DESCENDANTS  FOR  SIBS  SEE  SECTION  3  FOR  SIBS  SEE  SECTION  8 


^V^    iihrO^  "^"Y 


6 


^[N]cj  lS^;^^5S^^l^lS©^5i-j-^^ 


CHART   135  SECTION  a 


^-^  BACKWARD  ^-^  ^^^  ^^ 


CASE  135.  JOHN  B.  12  years  old.  Mentality  2.  Has  been  here  4 
years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  convulsions  when  cutting 
teeth  at  two  years;  had  whooping-cough  at  two  years.  Assigned  cause, 
"  long  labor  and  possibily  syphilis." 


252 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


CHART  135  SECTION  9 


GKANO-nOTHER 


B'9  PATERNAL  YsT 


desertcd  ^^ 


li@o 


o 


This  is  a  low  grade  child,  cannot  take  care  of  himself  and  has 
never  been  to  school ;  has  made  some  very  sKght  improvement 
since  admitted  to  the  Training  School;  habits  are  a  little  bet- 
ter ;  cannot  talk  nor  obey  a  command ;  probably  the  only  im- 
provement so  far  is  a  little  in  his  physical  condition. 

The  family  history  is  bad ;  a  number  of  individuals,  near  and 
remote  relatives  of  John,  are  feeble-minded;  many  more  are 
marked  as  questionably  normal,  which  would  mean  at  least  that 
they  are  of  low  intelligence  if  not  actually  mentally  defective. 

John  gives  a  positive  Wassermann  reaction. 

CASE  136.  ISADORE  D.  15  years  old.  Mentality  2.  Has  been  here 
7  years.  American  born,  of  American  parentage.  Assigned  cause,  "mater- 
nal impression."  The  mother  was  frightened  by  a  woman  with  a  hare  lip 
and  a  cleft  palate.  The  child  had  whooping-cough  at  the  age  of  one 
year  and  measles  at  seven. 

This  is  a  low  grade  case  with  several  stigmata  of  degeneration. 
He  has  a  cleft  palate,  very  large  ears,  prominent  teeth  and  an 
unpleasant  countenance;  is  highlynervous  and  excitable;  does  not 
talk  or  do  any  sort  of  work.    His  Wassermann  reaction  is  positive. 

This  family  is  one  that  we  have  been  able  to  study  more  thor- 
oly,  with  the  result  that  there  are  more  bad  things  in  evidence. 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY   2 


253 


Isadore  is  one  of  nine  children,  two  of  whom,  twins,  appear  to 
be  normal ;  the  rest  are  either  defective  or  died  young.  The 
father  was  alcoholic  and  syphihtic  but  seems  to  be  the  only  black 


CHART  J36 


fV 


<N) 


d-" 


^ 


<  47  YRS.  2  a.  ST.  VITUS'      *  I  ^\  I  /\  T^       ^"^ 

CEREBRAL  DANCE  I  \      I  /      \ 

TUnOR  1  N2  /  \ 


1^5 


sheep  in  his  family.  The  mother  is  defective,  has  a  defective 
sister,  who  in  turn  has  two  feeble-minded  children.  The  ma- 
ternal grandmother  of  Isadore  is  feeble-minded. 


CHART   137 


D-T-o-T-a 

HUSBANO/  ^"^  2ND  HUSe 


IN  AH  1      4N.CH.  ah  a 


iS®S'5SW5    do 6 ti li i i] 


®©no 


CASE  137.  KONRAD  D.  35  years  old.  Mentality  2.  Has  been  here 
20  years.  Born  in  Sweden,  of  Russian  parents.  Has  had  measles ;  had 
spasms  at  seventeen  years.  Assigned  cause,  "  a  fall  from  baby  carriage  at 
the  age  of  five  months." 

Konrad  is  the  fourth  child  in  a  family  of  six.  These  are  for- 
eigners and  most  of  the  family  are  in  the  Old  Country.     It  was 


254 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


very  difficult  to  talk  with  those  who  were  seen.  However,  we 
ascertained  that  a  sister  of  this  boy  has  four  children,  one  of 
whom  is  normal,  one  defective,  the  other  two  are  unknown.  A 
sister  of  the  father  of  our  boy  was  mentally  defective  and  had 
two  defective  children  out  of  seven ;  four  were  normal  and  one 
undetermined.     Konrad  is  low  grade  and  perfectly  hopeless. 


CHART  138   sECTioH 


a 


6^ 


4TH  WIFE 
PART 
COLORED 
ORIHDUJI 


ASx 

u 


DIVORCED  FROM  3rd 
WIFE  BECAUSE  SHE  HAD 
A  HUSBAND  UVING 


<5OTflTm 


(§5M^¥T'^6Td 


ERACE  E. 

k 


e^T-o 

••  WTWIFE 


CHART    138  SECTION  a 


FOR  2nd.  3nl 
AND  4Ui  WIVES 
SEE    SECTION  I 


i4      4.4      ^^     4  23  IT       rt4  "*• '^        <»- 3  |^  ^^  ^^ 


ILLCGITIMATC 


<^^^SS¥i  6S5b 


CASE  138.  GRACE  E.  15  years  old.  Mentality  2.  Has  been  here 
10  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  measles  at  the  age  of 
six  months,  whooping-cough  at  four  years.  Has  had  cholera  infantum. 
Assigned  cause,  "  sickness,  or  condition  of  the  mother." 

This  low  grade  case  is  one  of  the  excitable  type  and  has  made 
no  improvement. 


HEREDITARY    GROUP.      .MENTALITY    2  255 

This  is  a  very  large  family  but  unfortunately  a  great  deal  is 
undetermined.  However,  there  is  enough  to  show  us  appalling 
conditions,  both  physically  and  mentally. 

Grace  is  the  oldest  of  three  children.  The  father  died  of  ap- 
pendicitis. He  had  a  normal  sister.  His  father  (not  shown  on 
chart)  died  of  cancer;  nothing  else  is  known  of  him.  Of  the 
paternal  grandmother's  family  nothing  is  known.  The  trouble 
clearly  comes  from  the  mother's  side.  Her  father  was  a  noto- 
rious degenerate,  alcohohc  and  immoral.  He  was  four  times 
married.  There  is  no  conclusive  proof  that  he  was  men- 
tally defective.  His  descendants  by  his  first  wife  were 
tuberculous,  many  of  them  immoral.  One  son  had  a  feeble- 
minded daughter;  and  another  son,  feeble-minded  himself,  had 
seven  children  all  feeble-minded.  The  mother  of  our  child  was  a 
daughter  of  the  second  wife  of  this  man.  This  second  wife  was 
tuberculous  as  were  her  nine  brothers  and  sisters.  Their 
mother  was  tuberculous,  and  their  father  our  child's  maternal 
great-grandfather  was  feeble-minded.  He  was  twice  married 
and  had  a  feeble-minded  boy  by  his  second  wife.  Coming  back 
to  our  child  again,  we  note  that  her  mother  had  a  tuberculous 
sister  and  that  sister  married  a  man  who  was  tuberculous. 
Grace's  maternal  grandfather  had  no  children  by  his  third  wife, 
but  by  his  fourth  wife,  who  was  alcohohc  and  immoral,  he  had 
a  feeble-minded  boy. 

CASE  139.  NESSIE  E.  32  years  old.  Mentality  2.  Has  been  here 
23  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Has  had  measles,  whoop- 
ing-cough and  jaundice. 

Nessie  seems  to  have  degenerated  and  there  are  some  signs  of 
insanity  which  may  have  destroyed  part  of  what  httle  intelH- 
gence  she  had.  Her  earlier  records  are  better  than  at  present, 
altho  she  was  never  of  high  grade.  Upon  admission  at  the 
age  of  seven  it  is  recorded  that  her  speech  was  imperfect,  she 
recognized  color  and  form,  was  fond  of  music,  would  try  to  sweep 
and  wash  dishes ;   could  not  dress  or  undress  herself.     She  was 


256 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


tried  in  the  kindergarten  and  it  was  felt  that  she  could  do  but 
would  not.  She  learned  to  dress  herself  but  could  not  fasten 
her  clothes;  could  select  colors. 

Fifteen  years  ago  she  was  a  kitchen  helper,  washed  dishes,  pol- 
ished floors,  brought  vegetables  from  the  cellar,  etc.  At  present 
she  helps  a  little  in  the  dormitory  with  the  other  children.  She  is 
sober,  silent,  quarrelsome,  cranky,  quick-tempered.  On  one  occa- 
sion she  showed  a  memory  of  what  a  former  attendant  had  taught 


CHART     139 


6S&X-C5S5Z] 


WHOLE  FAMILY  HAS     VIOLENT  TEHPERS 


IE}- 


O 


i5^55S53n^ 


11 


her  some  years  before  and  upon  the  visit  of  that  attendant  per- 
formed the  task  that  she  had  been  taught.  Upon  another 
occasion  she  got  a  needle  and  thread  and  tried  to  mend  an  apron 
that  was  torn,  all  of  which  is  better  than  her  test  would  indicate. 

Her  mother's  condition  is  undetermined  but  she  seems  to  have 
been  of  good  family  and  by  her  first  husband,  who  was  a  normal 
man,  had  a  normal  child  who  has  had  in  turn  a  normal  daughter. 
The  father  of  Nessie  was  sexually  immoral;  little  is  known  of 
his  family  except  that  an  uncle  was  feeble-minded  and  the  family 
were  noted  for  their  violent  tempers. 

The  fact  that  there  are  two  feeble-minded  children  and  that 
the  father's  uncle  is  feeble-minded  would  seem  to  make  the  hered- 
itary feature  fairly  well  demonstrated. 


HEREDITARY    GROUP.      MENTALITY    2 


257 


CHART   140 

n — i — ® 


li  iiiii^  §^'i66W'*'"<^  (f©  m>^ 


^^ 


■ELUEEi 


iSm'^ 


lUXCITIMATC 


CASE  140.  NELLIE  E.  24  years  old.  Mentality  2.  Has  been  here 
17  years.  American  born,  of  American  parentage.  She  is  epileptic,  con- 
vulsions beginning  at  three  months;  had  whooping-cough  at  the  age  of 
four  years. 

This  is  a  very  low  grade  child,  has  almost  no  intelligence,  does 
not  know  candy  from  wood,  is  very  bad  tempered  and  quarrel- 
some, although  sometimes  affectionate ;  cries  a  great  deal.  Upon 
one  occasion  when  it  was  necessary  for  her  to  have  some  teeth 
extracted  she  had  a  bad  brain  storm  from  which  she  was  very 
slow  to  recover.  She  is  inclined  to  fight,  pinch  and  scratch  the 
other  children,  has  to  be  watched  very  carefully. 

Her  family  chart  shows  the  hereditary  character  of  the  defect. 
This  is  a  part  of  the  large  family  of  defectives  and  degenerates 
referred  to  in  Case  64. 

The  extra  seriousness  of  Nellie's  defect,  the  grade  of  idiocy, 
may  be  the  result  of  the  epilepsy,  which  is  possibly  due  to  a 
severe  fall  that  she  had  when  very  young.  There  seems  to  be  no 
evidence  that  the  epilepsy  itself  is  hereditary  in  her  case. 


25^ 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

CHART    141 


(5>T-lf&-rO 


cH3i&-r-®  (§0©  c5h-4-o 

1^  d  DRUCFIENI*         ^—^  ^^  ^^ 


2NO  HUsaANo  irr 

^,|N][N](^(N)Ul(i)    (i) 


irr  HUSBAND 


o 


a 


CASE  141.  NORA  E.  13  years  old.  Mentality  2.  Has  been  here  7 
years.     American  born,  of  American  parents. 

This  is  a  very  low  grade  case ;  is  congenitally  deaf ;  eats  gar- 
bage ;  does  not  sleep  well ;  will  play  with  blocks  alone  for  a  long 
time ;  is  cheerful  but  quick  tempered ;  has  bad  habits ;  walks 
badly;  can  undress  herself,  but  usually  will  not;  sometimes 
shows  some  slight  intelligence  by  taking  another  girl  by  the  hand 
and  leading  her  into  line  to  march  out  to  the  hall ;  will  get  into 
the  bathtub  with  her  clothes  on  and  turn  on  the  water  full 
force,  whenever  she  gets  a  chance. 

Nora  has  three  sibs  defective,  and  one  undetermined.  The 
father  is  feeble-minded,  but  seems  to  be  the  only  one  of  his  family 
that  is  defective,  altho  there  is  some  alcoholism  in  the  family. 
The  mother  is  feeble-minded,  as  was  her  father  and  her  father's 
uncle.  Otherwise,  we  have  not  been  able  to  discover  any  defect 
except  that  the  mother  had  a  brother  who  was  epileptic. 

CASE  142.  NANCY  F.  21  years  old.  Mentality  2.  Has  been  here 
15  years.    American  born;  father  French,  mother  German.    Has  had  spasms. 

Nancy  is  of  the  idiot  grade,  has  a  small  head ;  walks  badly ; 
does  not  speak ;  is  excitable  and  nervous ;  laughs  without  cause ; 
is  unclean. 


CASE  140,  NELLIE    E.,    AGE   24.  MENTALLY  2. 

CASE  141,  NORA   E.,    AGE    13.  MENTALLY  2. 

CASE  142,  NANCY   F.,    AGE   21.  MENTALLY  2.    (lower  left) 

CASE  150,  IZZY   P.,   AGE   12.  MENTALLY  2.    (lower  right) 


HEREDITARY  GROUP.     MENTALITY   2 

CHART     142 


259 


D 


O 


D 


O 


T TMfr^T      T     »«"-'■-   T  TT   I  T 

CH         CH      nOTHER-S  *  0  10  f  I  |  N  i 


KANpiF.  BABY 


The  cause  of  Nancy's  condition  is  perfectly  clear  after  a  glance 
at  the  family  chart. 

She  has  three  sisters  and  one  brother  feeble-minded  and  one 
sister  and  two  brothers  died  in  infancy.  A  younger  sister  is 
undetermined,  being  only  an  infant  as  yet.  The  father  is  dis- 
tinctly alcoholic  but  whether  feeble-minded  or  not  has  not  been 
determined. 


CHART     143 


Or© 


Q^ 


IN  GERMANY 


(£)ltl[-]|^  '"r""(N)(N)[^(t)  db^N) 


<!•  <L     HUSBANC 


>  HUSBAND 


m 

CASE  143.  GERTIE  H.  i6  years  old.  Mentality  2.  Has  been  here 
6  years.  American  born  ;  father  Russian,  mother  American.  Had  diphtheria 
at  the  age  of  four  years. 

Gertie  is  a  helpless  idiot,  walks,  eats  and  sleeps ;  does  nothing 
else.  The  father  and  mother  are  cousins ;  the  father  is  defec- 
tive but  the  mother  seems  to  be  normal. 


26o 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


CASE  144.  EVA  I.  18  years  old.  Mentality  2.  Has  been  here  11 
years.  American  born,  of  German  parentage.  Had  typhoid  fever  at  the 
age  of  six  years.  Supposed  cause  of  the  condition,  "  fright  of  the  mother  and 
congenital  tendencies,"  also  "  typhoid  fever." 

Eva  belongs  to  the  excitable  idiot  group,  is  untrainable  except 
in  some  of  the  simplest  habits,  is  very  nervous,  moves  oddly, 
cannot  feed  herself,  speaks  very  little  and  very  imperfectly ;  is 
very  fond  of  music  and  tries  to  hum  a  tune ;  is  very  gluttonous 


CHART     144 


IV 


m 


<N)     b(i)# 


<N) 


[3(fe(N)(fc(N)(^[^^ 


7  8  1 


^^dieTRS.  ^^      ^  ^^      BABY 

k 


and  puts  everything  into  her  mouth  ;  destroys  clothing ;  has  no 
sense  of  danger;  in  short  has  the  usual  characteristics  of  her 
type. 

As  so  often  happens  the  family  chart  shows  that  the  suggested 
cause  of  the  condition,  typhoid  fever  in  this  case,  is  probably 
not  significant,  as  there  is  clearly  feeble-mindedness  in  the  family. 
It  is  quite  possible  that  the  fever  may  have  had  an  influence  in 
making  her  the  low  type  that  she  is. 

This  is  an  interesting  case  of  a  defect  skipping  a  generation, 
at  least  a  part  of  it.  Eva's  mother  was  normal  but  the  maternal 
grandfather  was  feeble-minded  and  epileptic  and  Eva's  mother 
had  a  defective  brother  and  a  defective  sister.  The  father  was 
normal  and  of  an  apparently  thoroly  good  normal  family. 
It  is  interesting  to  note  that  Eva's  mother  had  a  brother  and 
sister  who  were  twins ;  one  was  normal  and  the  other  defective. 


HEREDITARY    GROUP.     MEXTALIT\'    2 


261 


CHART    l;3 


///    A         All 


Ts;  IS 


IU.EOITIMATE 


CASE  145.  FRANK  K.  16  years  old.  Mentality  2.  Has  been  here  6 
years.  American  bom,  of  American  parentage.  Condition  supposed  to  be 
due  to  acute  sickness  or  to  father's  intemperate  habits.  The  child  had 
spasms  at  the  age  of  two  years. 

Frank  is  a  pleasant,  smiling  boy  of  idiot  grade,  cannot  dress 
nor  undress  himself,  rarely  speaks  —  has  only  a  few  words  ;  drags 
his  feet ;  destroys  his  clothing,  and  has  the  other  characteristics 
of  the  low  grade  defective.  Persistent  efforts  have  been  made 
to  teach  him  something,  but  after  a  year  in  the  school,  he  had  not 
learned  a  letter  and  all  that  could  be  said  of  him  was  that  he 
"ha^d  learned  to  hold  the  chalk  a  little  better"  ;  yet  to  look  into 
his  face,  one  is  not  surprised  that  the  parents  write  that  they 
expect  he  will  be  much  improved  and  will  be  able  to  earn  his 
own  Hving.  There  are  in  this  case  of  idiocy  no  stigmata  of 
degeneration  that  are  noticeable  to  the  casual  observer. 

One  glance  at  the  chart  shows  that  we  need  not  call  in  acute 
disease  or  alcoholism  or  anything  else  except  the  defective  germ 
plasm  to  account  for  this  condition.  The  father,  it  is  true,  is  alco- 
holic but  the  mother  is  feeble-minded  and  sexually  immoral ;  she 
belongs  to  a  fraternity  of  feeble-minded  people,  the  children  of 
two  feeble-minded  parents.  Out  of  this  family  of  defectives,  the 
Training  School  harbors  two  children,  the  child  in   Case   112 


262 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


being  the  cousin  of  Frank.  The  maternal  grandfather  of  Frank 
seems  to  have  been  the  only  defective  in  his  fraternity,  but  we 
find  in  the  second  generation  from  him  a  feeble-minded  person, 
another  one  who  is  alcohoHc  and  insane,  and  two  that  were  sex- 
ually immoral.  Apparently  there  was  something  wrong  in  the 
family  and  it  cropped  out  occasionally. 


D 


O 


CHART  14© 

D- 


<^ 


O 


APOPIEXY  I      INTLAM.  \N)         I  ^/    \  UVWGJ 


(N)[Nl|i][N]|i(N)[N][N](N)  [1@        Q    \M4. 

HOMER  L.  ^"^  *  • 

k 

CASE  146.  HOMER  L.  31  years  old.  Mentality  2.  Has  been  here 
19  years.  American  born,  of  German  parents.  Has  had  whooping-cough 
and  scarlet  fever ;   had  diphtheria  at  the  age  of  5  years. 

Homer  is  a  large,  heavy  boy  of  low  mentality.  He  is  untrain- 
able  except  in  simple  habit  formation. 

This  is  an  interesting  case  because  for  a  long  time  we  could 
find  nothing  that  would  indicate  an  hereditary  character  of  the 
defect.  The  immediate  family,  so  far  as  we  could  learn  is  nor- 
mal, although  it  is  true  there  were  many  imdetermined  cases. 
Further  study,  however,  has  revealed  the  fact  that  the  maternal 
grand-uncle  had  six  daughters,  one  of  whom  was  feeble-minded 
and  another,  although  apparently  normal,  had  six  legitimate 
children,  and  an  illegitimate  daughter  who  was  feeble-minded ; 
that  daughter  is  now  in  an  Institution  for  the  feeble-minded  and 
is  considered  to  be  on  the  borderHne  between  the  moron  and 
the  imbecile  type.  We  are  thus  compelled  to  beheve  that  the 
feeble-minded  taint  is  on  this  grandmother's  side  of  the  family 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY    2  263 

and  while  it  did  not  show  in  other  cases  so  far  as  we  know,  it 
appears  in  Homer's  case,  possibly  being  brought  out  by  the  ex- 
tra taint  from  the  father  who  was  blind  and  died  of  apoplexy. 
This  is  important  because  it  is  strongly  suggestive  of  what  is  in 
all  probabiHty  true  of  many  other  cases  if  only  we  could  get  at 
the  facts. 

This  is  one  of  many  situations  that  lead  us  to  beHeve  that 
there  is  much  more  hereditary  feeble-mindedness  than  we  are 
able  to  show,  and  that  thoro  study  and  more  complete  records, 
as  the  years  go  by,  will  reveal  the  higher  percentage. 

CHART    147 


ORM  miKELAND  BORN  IN  IRELAND  BORN  IN  IRELAND  d.  /  i.  d. 


655^ 


WWrnm 


k 

HnuL 

CASE  147.  NINA  L.  14  years  old.  Mentality  2.  Has  been  here 
2  years.  American  born,  of  Irish  parents.  Had  diphtheria  at  4  months, 
measles  at  i  year.     The  defect  dates  from  the  attack  of  diphtheria. 

Nina  was  born  with  a  hare-lip ;  she  walked  at  two  years, 
talked  at  five ;  is  excitable  and  nervous ;  can  do  simple  errands 
around  the  house  ;  destroys  her  clothing. 

Nina  is  a  low  grade  girl,  unclean  in  her  habits,  has  not  yet 
learned  to  dress  herself ;  not  likely  to  change  much. 

There  is  no  doubt  of  the  hereditary  character  of  the  defect. 
Her  father  and  mother  were  both  defective  and  while  only  four 
children  have  been  seen,  it  is  entirely  probable  that  all  are 
defective.     The  father  himself  says  they  are  a  "set  of  dummies." 

Nancy  gives  a  positive  Wassermann  reaction. 


264 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


CHART    148 


D-r-O 


O 


(Su» 


655 


IZ^555o^ 


^^^  iMCAiMT  sprrrH 

QoSb 


®S)  iSSo  [5®^^®® 


I 

NATHAN  L. 

CASE  148.  NATHAN  L.  11  years  old.  Mentality  2.  Has  been  here 
5  years.  American  born,  of  Russian  parentage.  Nathan  had  whooping- 
cough  at  the  age  of  six  months,  measles  at  three  years. 

He  is  a  low  grade  child  who  has  changed  very  little  in  the 
five  years  that  he  has  been  here.  He  talks  almost  none 
at  all,  plays  a  little,  seems  to  understand  a  simple  command. 
Is  cheerful,  but  quarrelsome ;  active,  restless,  affectionate, 
timid. 

Both  parents  are  feeble-minded.  They  are  young  and  healthy 
looking  people.  The  husband  works  some,  but  has  no  strength 
of  character.  He  has  a  normal  sister  who  has  two  normal  chil- 
dren ;  two  brothers  unknown  and  grandparents  unknown.  The 
mother  has  a  feeble-minded  sister  who  married  her  uncle,  one 
normal  sister  who  married  a  feeble-minded  man  but  had  six 
apparently  normal  children,  three  brothers  undetermined  and 
grandparents  unknown. 

There  is  much  marrying  of  relatives  in  this  family.  The 
maternal  grandfather's  brother  married  his  niece  referred  to 
above ;  that  is  Nathan's  mother's  sister ;  the  result  of  this  mar- 
riage was  six  children  and  five  miscarriages.  Of  the  children, 
all  but  one  were  feeble-minded ;  one  of  them,  the  oldest  girl, 
married  the  son  of  another  brother  of  this  same  maternal 
grandfather.     The  offspring  from  the  marriage  of  these  cousins 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY    2 


265 


were  four  children,  two  girls  feeble-minded,  and  two  brothers 
undetermined. 


CHART  149 


D 


O 


D 


LIVING  IN  DtELAJID 


o 


LIVING  IN  OtELAlID 


fiOTa-r^iii~f^6[t]ti[!] 

•^    ^     WENT.        dT  ^  Vijly  i  LIVING  IN  OELUO 


KIRTK. 

CASE  149.  KIRT  N.  20  years  old.  Mentality  2.  Has  been  here  nine 
years.  American  born,  of  Irish  parents.  The  assigned  cause  is  fright  and 
fall.  Kirt  had  convulsions  as  a  baby,  had  whooping-cough  at  four  years ^ 
measles  at  six  years ;  has  a  central  brain  lesion. 

This  is  another  low  grade  case ;  does  not  talk  and  it  is  there- 
fore very  difficult  to  determine  his  exact  mentality.  There  is 
not  much  that  he  can  do,  except  such  simple  work  as  polishing 
floors  and  helping  make  beds  or  doing  rough  work  with  the  mason. 
He  is  cheerful  but  quick-tempered,  slow,  quarrelsome,  stubborn, 
rather  quiet.  A  glance  at  the  chart  shows  the  real  cause  of  the 
difficulty.  The  mother  is  feeble-minded  and  has  two  brothers 
in  the  same  condition,  who  are  also  alcohoHc.  The  rest  of  her 
sibs  are  undetermined.  One  of  the  brothers  married  a  normal 
woman,  had  four  children  normal,  and  two  defective,  others 
died  in  infancy  or  were  miscarriages. 

The  following  reproduction  of  a  bit  of  letter  from  the  mother 
does  not  prove  her  feeble-mindedness,  that  was  determined  by 
other  means,  but  this  is  so  much  like  the  writing  of  our  defectives 
that  it  almost  determines  the  actual  mental  age  of  the  individual. 
The  letter  would  usually  be  attributed  to  ignorance  or  lack  of 
school  training.     We  may  sometime  know  the  difference  between 


266  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

mental  defect  and  simple  ignorance  of  school  formulas,  and  be 
able  to  read  this  difference  in  a  document  like  this  letter. 


CASE  150.  IZZY  P.  12  years  old.  Mentality  2.  Has  been  here  6 
years.  American  born  ;  father  and  mother  German.  Had  measles  at  one 
year  of  age  and  convulsions  at  about  two.  Assigned  cause  of  his  men- 
tal defect,  "  the  child  swallowed  a  button." 

Izzy  does  not  talk  nor  dress  or  undress  himself,  hardly  under- 
stands a  command ;  will  play  a  little ;  is  rather  cheerful,  altho 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY    2 


267 


CHART  150 


/// 


Q 


O 


quarrelsome  and  restless;  is  afifectionate ;  he  seems  to  have 
much  more  appreciation  of  hfe  than  a  two  year  old  boy,  even  a 
defective,  usually  has ;  he  likes  to  look  nice,  with  a  new  suit  of 
clothes  for  example.  He  hstens  for  the  dinner  bell  and  then  walks 
over  to  his  dinner  in  evident  anticipation  ;  he  can  carry  a  bowl  of 
soup  to  the  boys  at  the  table  but 
his  attention  is  so  poor  that  he 
cannot  be  kept  at  one  thing  long 
enough  to  be  of  any  use. 

He  can  do  the  form-board  in 
about  a  minute  and  a  half,  which 
again  indicates  rather  more  than 
his  mentality  shows,  altho  this  is 
all  that  we  can  get  by  the  use  of 
our  tests. 

The  family  chart  is  very  incon- 
clusive and  yet  the  fact  that  the  maternal  grandfather  was 
feeble-minded  would  indicate  that  there  is  a  hereditary  taint, 
altho  we  know  nothing  of  the  mentality  of  the  father  or  mother. 


^y  4  36VBS. 


I 


art  p. 

k 


*J  m~h  © 


CHART    151 


65^ 


o 


F3-iH^ 


6M6i,46i'6^n^fnWT^ 


(N]|i]ct) 


IkLEGITIMATC 


CASE  151.  FANNIE  S.  8  years  old.  Mentality  2.  Has  been  here  2 
years.  American  born ;  nationality  of  father  unknown,  mother  American. 
Had  whooping-cough. 


268 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


Fanny  is  a  very  low  grade  child,  cannot  talk  nor  dress  herself ; 
weighed  three  pounds  when  born.  Since  coming  here  she  has 
learned  to  feed  herself  but  that  is  about  the  only  improvement. 

This  is  an  hereditary  case  in  a  family  of  rather  low  physical 
tone,  showing  also  some  epilepsy,  some  insanity,  immorality, 
alcoholism  and  other  less  significant  physical  and  moral  defects. 


CHART    152  SECTION  i 


FOR  CHILDREN  "PALSY"  I  •     I— I 

SEE  SECTION  *  ^i^ 

Vi       ^.l       '^    iahLt. 


^®^^^\h(b(b6 


CHART  152  SEaioN  2 


&Tl8 


o 


Cl]6tl©*(N)[Nli 


I  «  VRS."  *  VRS. 


CASE  152.  MAHLON  T.  25  years  old.  Mentality  2.  Has  been  here 
12  years.  American  born,  of  German  parents.  Assigned  cause,  "  perhaps 
the  bite  of  a  spider,  poison  in  the  blood." 

This  is  a  low  grade  case  of  whom  not  much  can  be  said.  He 
talks  very  Httle  and  very  indistinctly ;  will  eat  garbage  ;  can  do 
practically  nothing;  sometimes  helps  a  Httle  in  dressing  other 
children ;  is  very  quiet  and  slow ;  has  chronic  Bright's  disease. 
His  attendant  says  "this  pupil  seems  indifferent  to  everything 
but  his  meals.'* 


CASE  152,  MAHLON   T.,    AGE   25.*  MENTALLY  2?— (top  left) 

CASE  160,  DOROTHY   E.,   AGE   20.  MENTALLY  1.     (top  centre) 

CASE  151,  FANNIE    S.,    AGE   8.  MENTALLY  2.     (top  right) 

CASE  164,  NORA    X.,    AGE   25.  MENTALLY  1.     (lower  left) 

CASE  159,  CURTIS   D.,   AGE   31.  MENTALLY  1.     (lower  right) 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY    2 


269 


Turning  to  the  family  history  we  find  a  number  of  low  grade 
defectives.  There  are  at  least  three  cases  of  idiocy;  a  large 
number  of  the  rest  are  low  grade.  In  other  words,  here  is 
a  family  where  the  intelligence  is  so  low  that  even  the  layman 
can  recognize  the  defect,  and  has  no  difficulty  in  seeing  the 
definite  transmission  of  that  defect  from  one  generation  to  the 
next. 

Mahlon  is  the  ninth  child  in  this  family.  The  first  died  in 
infancy  and  the  second  was  a  miscarriage.  All  the  rest  are  fee- 
ble-minded. The  parents  of  this  family  were  both  feeble-minded. 
The  father  had  a  sister  who  was  feeble-minded  and  epileptic. 
She  married  and  had  eight  children  (see  Section  2  of  the  chart), 
of  whom  one  at  least  is  feeble-minded.  A  brother  of  Mahlon 's 
father  was  alcoholic  and  probably  feeble-minded,  since  three 
out  of  four  of  his  children  were  feeble-minded.     (See  Section  2.) 


CHART  153 


rtrO.         [5^&-r<5S^ 


[n]  (i)^  [i'|]  [n)  (N)©i&-|-(feid  [n]  (n)cI]  i  [n] 

'     ^-^     >r  MIGRAINE     <•       <"•  •'  3»        |^         T      A^TaiaLLED  m 


[n]  [N][^i(N)li[N][Nli     (n)[n] 


CASE  153.  GEOFFREY  T.  21  years  old.  Mentality  2.  Has  been  here 
6  years.  American  born,  of  American  parentage.  Condition  said  to  be 
congenital.  The  child  has  had  measles,  whooping-cough,  cerebro-spinal 
meningitis,  sore  ears. 

This  is  a  low  grade  case  and  might  possibly  be  attributed  to 
the  meningitis,  but  the  family  records  show  that  the  defect 
appeared  before  this  illness.     The  mother  has  migraine.     Geof- 


270 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


frey  does  not  talk  and  his  hearing  is  defective.  He  is  sober, 
silent,  stubborn,  quiet,  excitable,  forgetful.  He  has  no  work- 
ing schedule  and  does  practically  nothing. 

The  heredity  in  this  case  may  be  considered  somewhat 
doubtful  altho  the  father  seems  to  be  distinctly  feeble-minded, 
while  the  mother  is  normal.  Unfortunately  we  cannot  deter- 
mine the  father's  parentage.  His  father  died  of  asthma  at 
seventy-five  and  his  mother  of  diabetes  at  sixty-four,  but  their 
mentality  could  not  be  learned. 

The  whole  family,  on  both  sides,  is  of  rather  low  intelligence. 
It  is  not  possible  to  say  that  they  are  distinctly  feeble-minded 
and  consequently  the  case  rests  on  the  one  transmission. 


CHART  154 


Q 


O 


QrrQ 


^33rr(SWo&^^&T~^^ 


CIPri«  CRIPPLE     dja    CRIPPLE  ^"^  CRIPPLE  CANCER       i  j*  I  | 


J)E,UA  T. 


CASE  154.  DELIA  T.  16  years  old.  Mentality  2.  Has  been  here  9 
years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Has  had  spasms ;  measles 
and  whooping-cough  at  the  age  of  two ;  pneumonia  at  six  months ;  has  had 
adenoids  removed. 

Delia  is  a  very  low  grade  child ;  has  never  been  able  to  do 
anything  but  the  simplest  kind  of  work;  does  not  talk,  eats 
naturally,  sleeps  well,  pays  no  attention  to  other  children ;  has 
very  unclean  habits. 

The  family  chart  shows  a  great  deal  of  defect  both  physical 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY    2 


271 


and  mental.     The  father  was  a  cripple  and  had  stigmata  of 
degeneration  in  the  shape  of  club  feet  and  hands. 
There  is  also  insanity  in  this  family,  on  both  sides. 


CHART  155 


0- 


^3^  3^        2        isi  «l.87         a  » 


I        — —  IRELAND  IRELAND 


\.  OTHER  2        I 

\tAj  UPTON  T. 

CASE  155.  UPTON  T.  13  years  old.  Mentality  2.  Has  been  here 
7  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Instruments  were  used  at 
birth ;  child  had  convulsions  at  five  weeks ;  spasms  from  three  years  on ; 
measles  at  six  months ;  meningitis  at  seventeen  months ;  has  had  whooping- 
cough  and  paralysis.     Meningitis  is  supposed  to  be  the  cause  of  the  defect. 

Upton  was  an  eight  months  child ;  labor  very  difficult.  He 
is  a  low  grade,  untrainable  child,  quarrelsome,  stubborn,  ac- 
tive, restless,  excitable,  quick-tempered  and  destructive. 

Upton's  condition  could  undoubtedly  have  been  caused  by  the 
meningitis  since  that  is  recognized  as  an  adequate  cause  of  feeble- 
mindedness, and  it  has  probably  had  much  to  do  with  his  low 
grade  condition.  It  is  interesting  to  note,  however,  that  the 
father  was  alcohoHc  and  possibly  feeble-minded  also  ;  he  is  stub- 
born, quarrelsome,  and  cannot  keep  a  job.  Furthermore  he 
had  a  brother  who  had  two  feeble-minded  children.  We  know 
nothing  of  the  mother  of  these  two  children,  however,  and 
so  while  probable,  it  is  not  sure  that  there  is  feeble-minded- 
ness  in  the  family  of  our  boy's  father.  On  the  mother's  side 
nothing  can  be  learned  of  the  relatives.     A  younger  brother  of 


272 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


Upton  is  still  doubtful.  A  later  conception  resulted  in  a  mis- 
carriage. It  is  said  that  the  mother  used  drugs  for  the  purpose 
of  bringing  about  this  result. 


CHART  156 


4  DAUGHTERS 
SEXUAL  NEUROTICS 

(n)(n)  [n]  d— i—(S  i3  \k  (n)  s  [n]  cTS 


rsMT^(S^ 


CASE  156.  DANIEL  U.  14  years  old.  Mentality  2.  Has  been  here 
4  years.  American  -born,  of  American  parents.  Assigned  cause,  an 
attack  of  acute  indigestion.  He  had  spasms  at  twenty-six  months  and 
whooping-cough  at  the  age  of  three  years. 

This  is  another  case  belonging  to  the  idiot  group  and  nothing 
can  be  done  in  the  way  of  training  except  to  make  him  happy. 
He  has  learned  to  smile  and  likes  to  look  at  pictures.  Has  learned 
to  dress  and  undress  himself  and  probably  understands  a  com- 
mand as  he  sometimes  obeys. 

The  chart  shows  the  undoubted  hereditary  taint  and  is  inter- 
esting in  other  ways.  We  have  here  another  example  of  a  feeble- 
minded woman  with  an  alcoholic  husband,  the  result  being  feeble- 
minded children  and  children  dying  young.  The  mother  in  this 
case  was  also  alcoholic. 

Her  family  possibly  illustrates  the  other  side  of  the  picture. 
The  father  was  normal,  the  mother  is  said  to  have  had  insane 
fits,  may  have  been  feeble-minded  as  she  had  a  brother  who  was 
mentally  defective.  In  this  case  we  would  have  an  instance  of 
a  feeble-minded  woman  with  a  normal  husband,  not  alcoholic. 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY    i  273 

They  had  three  normal  children,  one  feeble-minded  —  the  mother 
of  our  boy,  —  another  one  that  was  alcoholic  and  one  that  died 
in  infancy  at  the  age  of  ten  months  with  abscess  on  head.  Many 
persons  in  this  family,  in  different  generations,  are  spoken  of  as 
having  violent  tempers  and  being  queer. 

CASE  157.  MORRIS  W.  32  years  old.  Mentality  2.  Has  been 
here  18  years.  American  born,  of  German  parents.  Had  measles  at  four 
years ;  has  had  marasmus  and  had  spasms  at  sixteen  years. 

Morris  is  a  typical  excitable  idiot;  does  a  little  kitchen  and 
dormitory  work,  scrubs  Hke  a  small  child ;  is  sober,  silent,  stub- 
born. 

The  family  history  is  incomplete  and  unsatisfactory,  but  it 
would  appear  that  there  must  be  an  hereditary  taint  since  three 
other   children    are    defective. 
We   have  also  in   this  family  j — -1 

another    case  of    twins  where  D — i — (n) 

one  is  defective  and  the  other 
probably  normal.  The  defect 
may  have  come  thru  the 
mother,  who  was  seen  by  the  k 
field  worker  and  considered 
probably  normal,  altho  there  was  some  doubt.  Of  the 
father,  nothing  could  be  learned  and  it  is  possible  that  he 
may  be  the  one  who  is  defective. 

CASE  158.  CLAUDE  D.  16  years  old.  MentaHty  i.  Has  been  here 
9  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  spasms  and  whooping- 
cough  at  four  years.     Assigned  cause,  "  a  fall  out  of  bed." 

Claude  is  of  the  very  lowest  grade  and  is  also  an  epileptic.  He 
does  not  feed  himself ;  hardly  knows  enough  to  swallow ;  does 
not  talk ;  walks  but  timidly. 

There  seems  to  be  no  doubt  of  the  hereditary  character  of  the 
defect,  since  a  brother  and  sister  are  also  defective  but  not  epi- 
r 


J>"l>tK^  <^6 


274  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

leptic.  The  parents  were  normal  but  the  mother  had  a  brother 
who  was  feeble-minded  and  epileptic  so  that  it  is  possible  that 
the  epilepsy  may  be  "in  the  blood." 

The  father  was  immoral.  His  father  was  supposed  to  be  normal 
but  was  shot  as  a  deserter  in  the  army.  One  cannot  say  that  it 
is  indicative  of  feeble-mindedness  to  become  a  deserter  from  the 


CHART    158 


IM- 


|-i-^(n)(n)In1    EhrKN) 

U  ^"^    ^"^       J^  KILLED  m  i.  70. 

XTE>  I  ACCIDENT 


Jsx  V    JL  JL  JL   1  J::;'"*jL 
[n]--tH®  (S>  ®  (K)  (n)  (n) 

BN         IN  I  eN 


(§SSS~i'S5Sii^ 


army,  or  that  if  he  had  not  been  feeble-minded  he  would  not  have 
been  caught ;  but  one  who  knows  the  moron  boy,  can  very  well 
believe  that  such  might  have  been  the  case ;  and  it  is  not  comfort- 
ing to  think  of  the  possibility  of  a  feeble-minded  boy  being  shot 
down  in  cold  blood  for  doing  what  his  low  mentality  dictated. 

CASE  159.  CURTIS  D.  31  years  old.  Mentality  about  i.  Has  been 
here  20  years. 

This  is  a  case  of  the  lowest  type  of  idiocy,  probably  due  to 
some  extraneous  cause  acting  upon  an  already  defective  stock. 
In  a  word,  the  child  would  have  been  feeble-minded  anyway, 
but  something  happened  to  lower  the  level  to  that  of  idiocy. 
As  usual  there  is  no  change  in  such  cases.  This  boy  has  remained 
the  same  for  the  twenty  years  that  he  has  been  here. 

Both  parents  are  feeble-minded.  They  had  five  children  of 
whom  two  died  in  infancy.  The  two  brothers  Hving  are  feeble- 
minded but  of  higher  grade.  The  father  was  one  of  a  family 
of  nine,  none  of  whom  could  be  determined  as  to  their  mentahty, 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY   i 


275 


but  two  were  alcoholic  and  one  was  sexually  immoral  and  crim- 
inalistic. One  sister  was  sexually  immoral  and  had  at  least  two 
feeble-minded  children.  Another  brother  had  four  children, 
all  of  whom  were  feeble-minded  and  the  two  girls  were  immoral. 
Curtis's  father  and  mother  were  cousins.  The  mother  was  one 
of  a  family  of  nine,  of  whom  four  brothers  were  feeble-minded. 

CHART  159 


sx    r 


ALMSHOUSE 


o 


(i)(fa^ii^"ffiS¥i! 


«  4  2  2 


Two  died  in  infancy  and  two  sisters  are  undetermined.  One 
of  the  brothers  married  a  feeble-minded  woman,  had  five  chil- 
dren, four  of  whom  were  certainly  feeble-minded  and  one  of  these 
had  two  feeble-minded  children.  Two  uncles  of  the  mother  were 
feeble-minded  and  one  of  them  had  a  feeble-minded  child.  There 
are  many  others  in  the  family  whose  condition  could  not  be 
determined,  but  enough  is  here  shown  to  indicate  that  it  is  a 
very  defective  and  bad  family.  There  are  alcohoHsm,  immo- 
rality and  criminalistic  tendencies. 


CASE  160.  DOROTHY  E.  20  years  old.  Mentality  i.  Has  been 
here  5  years.  American  born;  father  German,  mother  American.  Had  epi- 
leptic attacks  at  three  years ;  had  Saint  Vitus'  Dance  and  measles  at  the  age 
of  ten  years.     The  assigned  cause  is  "  brain  trouble  after  cutting  her  teeth." 

Dorothy  is  a  typical  idiot  of  the  lowest  grade ;  walks,  but  does 
not  talk  nor  have  any  intelligent  life ;  will  swing  in  the  hammock 


276 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


by  the  hour;    bangs  her  head  and   bites  herself  a  great  deal. 
She  is  abnormally  small. 

It  is  clearly  a  defective  family.  Very  little  could  be  deter- 
mined, but  a  younger  sister  is  defective  altho  of  higher  grade ; 
a  brother  died  in  infancy  and  another  sister  died  at  three 
years.  The  mother  is  feeble-minded  and  a  cripple;  her  two 
brothers,  twins,  are  also  defective.     They  both  have   children. 


CHART    160 


D-rO 


D 


O 


[^-p© 


a-r<5S5©S^^]-n^f^ 


[5d& 


Of  those  of  the  elder,  one  is  feeble-minded  and  the  other  is  back- 
ward, very  probably  feeble-minded.  The  father  of  Dorothy 
is  alcoholic  and  tuberculous.  The  maternal  grandparents  are 
both  feeble-minded. 

The  question  arises  in  all  of  these  cases  of  low-grade  children 
where  the  hereditary  taint  appears  in  the  family,  whether  their 
condition  is  simply  an  exaggeration  of  the  defect  which  exists  in 
the  family,  or  whether  they  are  cases  of  heredity  plus  injury  in 
some  form.  That  cannot,  of  course,  generally  be  determined. 
The  fact  that  there  is  a  younger  sister  here  who  is  defective,  but 
a  high  grade  case,  seems  to  point  to  the  latter  as  the  true  expla- 
nation. Such  cases  show  us  that  we  need  much  more  study  of 
this  problem. 

CASE  161.  BERTIE  N.  9  years  old.  Mentality  i.  Has  been  here 
3  years.  American  born  ;  father  American,  mother  Irish,  Had  meningitis 
at  the  age  of  two,  is  epileptic,  has  had  measles  and  whooping-cough. 


HEREDITARY    GROUP.     MENTALITY    i 


277 


This  is  a  very  low  grade  case,  helpless  and  hopeless ;  does  not 
talk ;  cannot  do  anything ;  has  made  no  improvement  in  three 
years. 

We  have  traced  a  large  number  of  members  of  this  family  but 
got  very  little  information  of  importance.  There  is  very 
clearly  hereditary  epilepsy,  as  it  has  cropped  out  in  at  least  four 
cases  as  shown  on  the  chart.     There  is  some  Httle  alcohoKsm 


CHART    161 


D 


^^        ^^  <184¥RS.<I9  YRS.  -■"-  T  T 

PARA-  •  1 


6^  <^m^tia<566ti6 

i'n  1  PARALYSIS  'l-l-EO  8  N 

30 


and  some  sexual  immorahty.  Bertie's  father  may  have  been 
defective,  at  least  he  was  alcoholic  and  deserted  his  wife.  The 
wife  is  a  normal  woman,  but  illiterate. 

In  the  presence  of  the  epilepsy  which  is  so  clearly  inherited 
it  is  impossible  to  say  positively  that  the  feeble-mindedness  is  a 
hereditary  condition.  It  is  barely  possible  that  it  is  the  result, 
or  at  least  an  accompaniment,  of  the  epilepsy. 

CASE  162.  NANCY  P.  24  years  old.  Mentality  i.  Has  been  here 
7  years.  American  born,  of  Irish  parents.  Had  infantile  paralysis  at  three 
years ;  spasms  at  twenty-three.  Infantile  paralysis  is  supposed  to  be  the 
cause  of  the  defect. 

Nancy  is  a  low  grade  case  who  has  made  no  improvement 
except  very  sHght  changes  in  certain  habits. 


278 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


This  is  a  case  of  hereditary  feeble-mindedness.  Probably 
the  low  grade  was  brot  on  by  the  disease,  but  it  was  a  feeble- 
minded stock  to  begin  with.  The  younger  sisters  are  marked 
questionably  normal,  the  question  meaning  that  while  they 
appear  normal  now,  they  are  still  quite  young  and  it  is  possible 


CHART    162 

D- 


o 


a 


0^65^^  Vt  f^^ 


(SS5©S§©S^(§SSo  oSS^S 


that  they  may  show  feeble-mindedness  later  on.  There  is  an 
imbecile  of  the  Mongolian  type  in  this  family,  an  own  cousin  to 
our  Nancy.  This  is  worthy  of  note  because  usually  the  Mon- 
golian type  comes  from  families  of  much  better  heredity  than  this 
one.     However,  in  this  case  the  immediate  family  is  good. 


CHART  163 


D 


^ 


Kj 


HUSBAND 


"£S' 


o 


I^S,il^666SnH5P^ 


n 


i 


CASE  163.  SAMMY  T.  21  years  old.  Mentality  i.  Has  been  here 
10  years.  American  born  ;  father  American,  mother  German.  Had  measles 
at  one  year.   Assigned  cause,  "  fall  when  a  baby  or  else  the  result  of  measles." 


HEREDITARY   GROUP.     MENTALITY    i 


279 


Sammy  is  an  idiot  of  the  lowest  type,  at  the  bottom  of  the 
ladder ;  has  practically  no  Ufe  of  intelligence. 

The  chart  shows  the  thoroly  defective  character  of  the  family ; 
what  is  the  explanation  of  Sammy's  extreme  low  grade  it  is 
difficult  to  say,  possibly  the  father's  alcohoHsm.  His  Wasser- 
mann  reaction  is  positive. 


Q 


2ND     COUSINS 


(gf^  SMMm5~i 


CASE  164.  NORA  X.  25  years  old.  Mentality  i.  Has  been  here  17 
years.  Has  had  whooping-cough.  Her  defect  showed  at  the  age  of  six 
months.  The  assigned  cause  of  the  condition  is  prenatal  influence,  the 
mother  was  frightened  by  a  horse. 

Upon  admission  at  the  age  of  9,  was  underweight,  did  not 
walk,  could  not  care  for  herself.  This  is  a  low  grade  idiot,  can- 
not talk ;  has  to  be  fed ;  is  restless,  stubborn,  eats  garbage,  has 
unclean  habits ;  can  walk. 

A  glance  at  the  chart  shows  how  much  there  is  in  the  assigned 
cause.  The  father  was  feeble-minded,  has  been  three  times 
married.  Nora  is  the  daughter  of  the  second  marriage.  There 
seem  to  be  no  normal  ones  in  that  family,  altho  she  has  six 
sibs.  The  father's  third  wife  was  feeble-minded  and  they  had 
two  feeble-minded  children  that  died  young. 


28o 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


PROBABLY   HEREDITARY 

The  following  34  cases,  Nos.  165  —  198,  compose  the  group  of 
Probably.  Hereditary  cases. 


CHART    165 


[n][n][n}- 


<n)      |Nh-(N) 


SIBS 
/)  DESCEND- 
ANTS 
NORHAL 


^-^      ^"^  3^         2  NORl 

■(§(N)lN|l^[N|T§-r-^[N][Nl(N)^ 

I  I  °  ^  MANY  DESCENDANTS    |  | 

3N  2N  3N  ALL  NORMAL  }N^         IN 


(^^^^t^"^Wl]  c^SSipSij!^ 


SxTl 


N 


i=d^Fi)  i=i  ^  r\N 


m 


CASE  165.  FRANK  AND  KARL  T.  American  born,  of  American 
parents.  Frank  17  years  old.  Mentality  10.  Has  been  here  2  years. 
Had  measles  and  whooping-cough.  Assigned  cause,  "  old  age  of  parents." 
Karl  25  years  old.  Mentality  8.  Has  been  here  7  years.  Has  had 
adenoids  and  ring-worm. 

Karl  is  a  fine  looking  boy  of  rather  high  grade ;  is  quiet,  obe- 
dient, good  tempered ;  is  slow  and  somewhat  forgetful  but  does 
excellent  work  about  the  barn  and  out  of  doors ;  he  writes  and 
counts  in  about  the  usual  way  for  one  of  his  grade,  altogether 
a  very  satisfactory  Institution  boy. 


PROBABLY  HEREDITARY.     MENTALITY   9  281 

Frank  is  younger  but  does  better  than  his  brother ;  he  is  very 
cheerful,  good-natured,  happy ;  learns  fairly  well  and  is  improving ; 
does  excellent  work  in  the  house,  about  the  pantry  and  kitchen. 

The  history  of  this  family  is  another  puzzle  when  it  comes  to 
the  question  of  accounting  for  the  defect  of  these  children.  A 
reference  to  the  chart  will  show  an  older  sister  also  feeble-minded 
and  in  an  Institution  for  such  people.  There  have  been  four 
deaths  in  infancy,  and  two  children  are  normal.  Under  such 
conditions  we  cannot  doubt  that  there  is  feeble-mindedness  some- 
where in  the  family  but  it  does  not  show  in  the  ancestors,  in 
any  positive  way.  The  mother  is  considered  normal  altho 
that  is  questionable.  On  the  other  hand,  the  father,  a  nor- 
mal man,  was  of  fairly  good  family,  but  he  was  immoral, 
alcohohc  and  syphilitic.  Formerly  we  should  have  said  that 
syphilis  itself,  or  perhaps  even  the  alcohol,  was  enough  to  ac- 
count for  the  children,  but  the  presence  of  two  normal  chil- 
dren between  the  deaths  in  infancy  and  the  feeble-minded  ones 
is  very  difficult  to  explain  on  the  basis  of  the  alcohol  or  the 
syphilis  as  their  effect  would  thus  be  partial.  It  is  probable 
that  there  is  an  hereditary  taint  of  feeble-mindedness  coming 
thru  the  mother's  family  and  that  under  such  conditions  the 
alcohol  or  the  syphilis  may  help  to  bring  out  the  defect  otherwise 
lying  dormant  in  the  family. 


CASE  166.  URIAH  C.  37  years  old.  Mentality  9.  Has  been  here 
18  years.  American  born,  of  Irish  parentage.  Assigned  cause,  scarlet 
fever  at  the  age  of  four.  Instruments  were  used  at  birth.  Child  had  scarlet 
fever  at  four,  measles  at  the  age  of  seven,  scalp  disease  and  ring-worm  at 
eight,  spasms  at  twenty-one. 

This  is  a  high  grade  case  but  shows  marked  signs  of  age.  He 
came  here  at  nineteen,  had  been  in  public  school  nine  years  with 
no  result ;  has  since  learned  to  write  fairly  well  but  cannot  spell ; 
has  been  quite  a  fair  worker  on  rough,  coarse  work  about  the 
Institution  ;  of  late  has  been  more  or  less  ill. 


282  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

The  family  chart  is  very  meager,  as  little  could  be  learned. 

Taken  by  itself  it  would  not  indicate  the  hereditary  character 

of  the  defect  but  in  connection  with  the  fact 

CHART  166        p^Q^g^^  i^  other  cases,  that  two  accidents  are 

r-n^^'^^^rt     not  likely  to  occur  in  one  family,  we  may  well 

*"^     r^~0     beheve  that  the  defect  is  hereditary  here  also. 

Uriah  has  a  younger  brother  who  is  feeble- 

jK  |i  Hnni    minded    and    we    do   not    know    anything    to 

Sr     (?    *"  disprove  the  statement  that  either  their  father 

TOa<k  or  mother  or  both  may  have  been  defective. 

CASE  167.  JEAN  S.  18  years  old.  Mentality  9.  Has  been  here  7 
years.  Born  in  Russia,  of  Russian  parents.  Had  measles  at  four,  cerebro- 
spinal meningitis  and  convulsions  at  nine. 

When  she  came,  she  was  almost  twelve  years  old,  knew  her 
alphabet,  color  but  not  form  ;  was  not  fond  of  music.  In  1906, 
four  months  after  admission,  the  record  shows  —  ''is  better 
behaved ;  wants  to  do  all  the  other  children  do  in  kindergarten, 
but  will  not  work  hard  or  chart  is? 

long;  can  sing;  does  a  little     p)  ["]  YnT^        (n) 

English  and  basketry."  ,)^  ^i^c^        ^ 

In    1908,    "improved    in 
work  and  conduct,  in  bas-  ifilA       /A\  /An /i\  rh 

ketry  a  little,  and  in  Eng-  "M      ®  ®  (n)  Q 

lish ;  does  well  in  singing."  1 

In  1909,  "is  very  naughty;  made  and  furnished  a  doll's 
house  as  a  special  privilege,  then  was  much  better." 

In  191 1,  "much  improved  in  woodwork,  does  well  in  bas- 
ketry, better  in  EngKsh,  does  well  in  the  band." 

In  191 2,  "does  well  in  almost  everything." 

Jean  is  a  high  grade  girl  but  is  of  a  pecuHar  disposition,  stub- 
born and  obstinate. 

Among  those  not  familiar  with  feeble-mindedness  in  all  its 
manifestations,  Jean  would  easily  pass  for  a  normal,  tho  ignorant, 


CASE    166,    URIAH    C,    AGE   37.     MENTALLY   9.     (bottom) 


PROBABLY  HEREDITARY.     MENTALITY   9  28 


child.  She  expressed  a  great  desire  to  study  German  and  partly 
to  please  her  and  partly  to  make  an  experiment  in  teaching  such 
a  child,  special  lessons  were  given  to  her ;  but,  altho  the  best 
methods  were  used  and  a  great  effort  made,  nothing  was  accom- 
plished. She  seemed  unable  even  to  associate  the  German  names 
with  the  familiar  objects,  and  at  the  end  of  a  considerable  period, 
knew  nothing  more  than  the  names  of  a  very  few  objects.  She 
is,  however,  an  excellent  Institution  helper,  is  well  trained  and 
can  do  good  work  under  direction.  She  is  a  Httle  inclined  to  be 
stubborn  but  generally  is  affectionate  and  willing. 

Unfortunately  the  family  chart  is  lacking  in  everything  that  we 
want.  It  has  been  absolutely  impossible  to  get  any  data  in  re- 
gard to  the  mother,  or  her  family.  The  father  is  said  to  be  nor- 
mal, but  the  only  evidence  we  have  is  the  fact  that  by  the 
second  wife  he  had  only  normal  children. 

Jean's  older  brother  is  defective  like  herself ;  this  would  point 
to  the  probability  that  there  is  a  hereditary  defect. 

CASE  168.  DAVID  B.  33  years  old.  Mentality  8.  Has  been  here 
21  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Has  had  spasms,  whoop- 
ing-cough, scarlet  fever,  diphtheria,  and  grip. 

David  is  a  strong,  vigorous,  simple-minded  boy  who  would 
pass  many  times  as  simply  ignorant.  He  has  acquired  consid- 
erable abihty  in  music  and  plays  cornet  solos  very  nicely.  This 
is  his  one  accompKshment. 

CHART    168 

He  can  do  very  little  in  ^^  T 

reading    or   writing  ;    can         LJ 

add    twelve    and   nine  on 

paper  but  cannot  tell  four 

and  two,  if  asked.     This  is 

true  in   spite  of   the  fact 

that    he    has    had    most 

elaborate  training,  and  at 

one  time  could  add  columns  || 


O      [3-rO 


%mH8MAIX 
BABY 


fSmiTSi    (N) 


284 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


of  figures  on  the  blackboard.  He  is  generally  pleasant  and  agree- 
able, and  a  good  worker  at  whatever  he  can  do.  Has  worked 
in  the  shoe-shop  and  boiler  house  and  helped  one  of  the  janitors. 

It  has  been  difficult  to  get  any  extensive  data  in  regard  to  this 
family.     His  musical  abihty  is  said  to  have  been  a  family  trait. 

David  is  the  oldest  Hving  child.  The  next  younger  boy  died 
at  two.  A  younger  one  is  hving;  has  ''learned  the  plumber's 
trade"  but  does  not  work  at  it  on  account  of  physical  disabihty  ; 
is  a  moron.  There  were  six  miscarriages.  The  mother  is  unde- 
termined but  was  said  to  be  of  good  family.  The  father  was 
alcohoHc  and  abusive.  Our  boy  had  typhoid  fever  when  very 
young  and  was  also  bitten  by  a  dog.  His  defect  is  said  to  date 
from  that  time. 


CHART  169 


6^Sb       a 

^*^  _       All   ABruPBvmn  46AVRfl 


ALLARE  VEKYOLD 


-(N) 

«g6VRS. 
"CEREBRAL 
TROUBLE" 


iS~^      (N) — [N]-T— <N)S(5c!:6-riHi 


^®& 


ABNORMAL 
LATE  IN 

un 


(5®a 

j^  KEITH  C 


m 


CASE  169.  KEITH  C.  26  years  old.  Mentality  8.  Has  been  here 
8  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  convulsions  at  the  time 
of  dentition;  has  had  measles  and  whooping-cough.  Instruments  were 
used  in  delivery.     Assigned  cause,  "  lack  of  brain  development  in  utero." 

Keith  is  a  nice  looking  boy,  rather  undersized,  but  with  a  re- 
fined countenance,  which  would  seem  to  indicate  good  parentage  ; 
has  about  the  usual  history  for  children  of  his  mentality.  In 
the  matter  of  the  three  R's,  he  does  not  write  a  very  good  letter, 
spells  badly,  and  his  construction  is  very  poor.  He  takes  an 
interest  in  what  he  does ;  assists  the  electrician  and  other  persons 
on  the  grounds;    needs  little  or  no  supervision  in  the  case  of 


PROBABLY  HEREDITARY.     MENTALITY  8 


28s 


anything  that  he  has  learned  to  do,  but  finds  it  very  difficult  to 
take  up  a  new  occupation.  His  speech  is  a  Httle  defective  but 
easily  understood.  Keith  has  evidently  inherited  a  great  many 
good  qualities  and  by  the  casual  observer  would  be  considered 
much  more  intelhgent  than  he  proves  to  be. 

A  study  of  the  family  history  indicates  that  there  is  a  defect 
on  the  mother's  side,  altho  the  mother  herself  is  normal.  The 
father's  family  is  thoroly  intelhgent  and  normal.  Keith  has 
two  sisters,  both  probably  normal,  one  died  of  spinal  disease. 
The  mother  had  one  sister,  who  was  feeble-minded  and  one, 
who  was  '^mentally  abnormal  late  in  hfe."  It  has  not  been 
possible  to  determine  what  this  means.  It  sounds  more  hke 
mild  insanity  than  feeble-mindedness. 


CHART  \7(f 


O 


ISTWrlCC  HUSBAND  3«0W(IFE  L^f  11T  WIFE  <  «  V"S.  *- 


A^i 


°f 


N 


CASE  170.  IMLAY  C.  20  years  old.  Mentality  8.  Has  been  here 
II  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  typhoid  fever  at  the 
age  of  six  years,  supposed  to  be  the  cause  of  his  defective  condition. 

Imlay  is  a  high  grade  case ;  upon  admission  at  the  age  of  six 
it  was  recorded  that  he  had  a  large  head  and  that  he  did  not 
seem  to  grow ;  he  understood  a  command,  was  obedient,  knew 
colors  by  name,  memory  was  good,  was  fond  of  music. 

After  admission  he  improved  a  good  deal  for  a  time,  worked 
well,    did   kindergarten   weaving,    sewing   and   simple   folding; 


286  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

could  tie  his  own  shoes ;  could  use  scissors.  A  year  later  he  was 
still  in  the  kindergarten  but  had  greatly  improved;  could  do 
some  basketry  and  drill  work.  Three  years  later  had  made  some 
progress  in  number  work ;  could  add  thirty-five,  twelve  and 
forty-six ;  could  subtract  twenty-five  from  ninety-six  and  similar 
problems.  The  next  year  he  learned  to  knit  fairly  well.  Two 
years  later  it  is  recorded  that  he  worked  very  poorly  and  slowly, 
was  fond  of  fire  and  could  not  be  trusted. 

He  was  exceedingly  attractive  when  young  and  gave  rise  to 
great  hopes  that  he  might  improve  wonderfully.  He  is  now 
morose  and  quiet,  dull  and  stupid,  does  well  when  he  works, 
but  will  work  very  little.  He  is  very  moody ;  is  considered  sly 
and  peculiar;  there  are  some  indications  that. he  is  suffering 
from  brain  disease  as  well  as  the  arrested  development.  He  can 
talk  distinctly  but  is  rather  reticent. 

The  family  history  perhaps  helps  to  explain  his  condition. 

Imlay  is  the  only  son  of  his  father  and  mother.  Their  mental 
condition  is  not  known  except  that  the  mother  was  insane.  The 
father  had  been  previously  married  and  had  a  feeble-minded 
son  by  that  wife  also,  which  would  seem  to  point  to  a  defect  in 
the  father,  but  nothing  more  is  known  of  him.  The  mother's 
family  is  one  of  the  cases  where  there  is  considerable  closely 
related  insanity.  As  said,  the  mother  herself  was  insane,  her 
father  was  insane  and  his  brother  had  a  daughter  who  was 
insane.  In  addition  to  that,  there  was  a  great  deal  of  tuber- 
culosis in  these  three  generations. 

It  is  seen  that  probably  the  typhoid  fever  was  only  a  contrib- 
uting cause. 

The  following  is  a  sample  of  Imlay's  letter-writing  — 

Vineland,  N.J. 
April  I,  1910. 
''My  dear  Mother 

I  hope  you  are  well  and  happy,     did  you  enjoy 
your  birthday  and  wasn't  you  glad  to  get  the  nice 


PROBABLY   HEREDITARY.     MENTALITY   8 


287 


birthday  letter.     I  received  the  pretty  postal  card 
that  I  got  for  Easter  and  I  was  pleased  to  get  it  and 
the  two  callars  and  fourhand  tie.     We  had  an  enter- 
tainment last  Wednesday  night  and  it  was  giving  by 
two  of  the  teachers  and  it  had  a  whole  lot  of  fun  in 
it  and  it  was  called  the  Bill  Posters  Dream  and  all 
the  boys,  and  girls,  laughted  while  it  was  going  on 
and  it  was  so  funney  that  every  body  in  the  Hall 
laughted  and  we  all  had  a  good  time  and  enjoy  it  very 
much  I  hope  that  grandma  is  well  and  happy  all  right 
I  will  close  with  lots  of  love 

Your  loving  Son" 


CHART    171 


Eh-O 


Q 


O 


O 


i.  ••  i  i  2 


*■  ^  4.  *■  <2aVR8. 


Ig     m 


CASE  171.  FRANK  G.  17  years  old.  Mentality  8.  Has  been  here 
6  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  spasms  at  four  months ; 
had  slight  chorea ;  had  measles  at  eight  years. 

Frank  is  a  moron  with  some  nervous  instability ;  one  leg  is 
shorter  than  the  other  and  he  walks  badly.  His  speech  is  not 
distinct  unless  he  speaks  very  slowly. 

Upon  admission  at  the  age  of  eleven,  he  knew  his  alphabet, 
could  count  to  fifty,  could  write  a  Httle  ;  had  been  in  kindergarten 
for  two  years  and  the  public  school  one  year ;  could  add  sums 
less  than  ten,  could  subtract  and  multiply. 


288 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


After  admission  he  learned  to  read  and  spell  easy  words  and 
wrote  a  good  many  words ;  made  some  little  progress  in  wood- 
working but  this  was  very  irregular  and  never  amounted  to  much. 
Even  housework,  he  has  never  learned  to  any  great  extent,  at 
least  is  not  trustworthy  in  this  direction.  He  is  an  errand  boy 
and  does  this  fairly  well.  He  is  good  natured,  but  very  sober. 
He  now  shows  symptoms  of  dementia  praecox. 

The  family  chart  is  another  difficult  one  to  interpret.  A 
maternal  uncle  of  Frank's  is  feeble-minded,  but  we  know  noth- 
ing of  the  condition  of  the  parents  and  consequently  dare  not 
say  positively  that  this  is  a  hereditary  taint.  The  maternal 
grandfather  was  alcoholic  and  may  have  been  feeble-minded. 

CHART    172 


CH-O 


PAKALYTIR 


LARGE  FAMILY  \ 

I  OF  BOYS  IN  I 

6  CANADA  I 


I  ]  I         I  ll  IN  CANADA  I 


*  2  VRI 


n 


CASE  172.  DAVID  I.  26  years  old.  Mentality  8.  Has  been  here 
10  years.  Born  in  Canada,  father  Canadian,  mother  English.  Had  con- 
vulsions at  four  months,  whooping-cough  at  one  year,  measles  at  four  years. 
Was  a  case  of  instrumental  delivery ;  his  birth  was  very  difficult  being  a 
breech  presentation.  He  had  convulsions  at  four  months.  Mental  defect 
said  to  be  due  to  the  convulsions. 

David  is  a  strong,  heavy-set  boy,  rather  slow,  but  does  a  good 
deal  of  work,  particularly  around  the  barn  and  dairy.  He  never 
got  very  far  in  his  school  work,  perhaps  because  he  was  so  old 
when  he  entered  the  School.     He  was  seventeen  at  the  time  and 


PROBABLY   HEREDITARY.     MENTALITY   8  289 

could  not  read  nor  count ;  could  copy  some  and  do  a  little  house- 
work. He  seems  to  have  found  his  place  in  the  barn  work  and 
is  much  appreciated  by  the  dairymen. 

It  is  almost  impossible  to  evaluate  the  possible  causes  of 
David's  condition.  His  father  was  alcoholic  and  epileptic  but 
nothing  else  is  known.  A  cousin  from  the  mother's  side  was 
feeble-minded,  died  of  tumor  on  the  brain  said  to  have  been 
brought  on  by  a  blow.  A  nephew  of  David's  was  feeble-minded ; 
these  facts  are  not  very  conclusive,  and  yet  they  would  indicate 
that  there  is  bad  protoplasm  in  this  family. 

CHART    173 


I      I      I      1 

UVEINGEKHANY 


b-i— (!5  li"  \h  [ni-|-(n) 

RUTAL         NERVOUS    |  DEUCATE       ^^ 


STST5r§Wll  (§S;55i 


k 


CASE  173.  FLORENCE  L.  25  years  old.  Mentality  8.  Has  been 
here  15  years.  Born  in  Switzerland,  of  Swiss  parents.  Came  to  this  country 
when  five  years  old.  Supposed  cause,  "  convulsions  at  the  age  of  three 
months."  Had  acute  meningitis  at  6  months,  measles  at  the  age  of 
seven  years  and  whooping-cough  at  eight. 

This  child  is  deaf  and  dumb  and  were  it  not  for  this  she  would 
undoubtedly  show  higher  mentahty,  both  because  she  would  be 
able  to  pass  our  tests  at  a  higher  age,  and  because  she  would 
have  developed  the  mentahty  she  has,  to  a  greater  extent ;  never- 
theless, it  is  clear  that  she  is  feeble-minded. 

At  the  time  of  admission  at  the  age  of  ten,  her  head  was  large ; 
she  could  dress  and  undress  herself ;  her  speech,  what  Httle  she 
had,  was  very  imperfect;  she  was  gluttonous;  would  occa- 
sionally eat  garbage;  had  bad  habits.  She  is  relatively  high 
grade  and  quite  intelHgent.  Makes  a  great  effort  to  speak  and 
has  learned  to  say  a  few  words.     Can  write  a  fair  letter,  has  never 


290  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

learned  to  do  much  with  numbers  and  indeed  makes  no  great  use 
of  any  of  her  book  knowledge.  She  does  dormitory  work,  can 
do  sewing,  make  button  holes,  sew  on  buttons  and  use  the  sewing 
machine.  She  is  affectionate,  good  tempered,  willing  and  tries ; 
she  is  quick,  sometimes  stubborn ;  makes  her  eyes  take  the 
place  of  her  ears  to  quite  an  extent.  For  example,  can  follow 
the  other  girls  in  the  gymnasium  work  by  watching  their  motions 
attentively.  She  has,  however,  long  since  reached  her  limit  of 
development  and  now  does  only  routine  work. 

Her  family  history  is  naturally  incomplete  since  she  was 
born  abroad ;  altho  her  mother  has  some  relatives  in  this  country. 
Of  the  father's  family  nothing  is  known.  He  is  said  to  have 
been  very  brutal ;  would  not  work,  never  supported  his  family, 
and  finally  deserted  them. 

Florence  has  two  older  brothers  and  two  younger  sisters,  these 
are  considered  by  the  mother  to  be  normal  and  they  certainly 
would  pass  for  normal  in  the  eyes  of  any  one  but  an  expert,  who 
would  recognize  them  as  defectives  of  the  moron  type.  The 
mother  has  had  seven  miscarriages ;  suffered  from  migraine  and 
is  rather  delicate,  but  keeps  a  neat  home  and  has  kept  the  family 
together  successfully. 

The  meningitis  may  account  for  Florence's  defective  hearing, 
but  apparently  there  is  an  hereditary  taint  in  the  family  and  quite 
possibly  she  would  have  been  mentally  defective  without  the 
meningitis. 

CASE  174.  FRANK  N.  (colored).  26  years  old.  Mentality  8.  Has 
been  here  11  years.  American  born,  of  African  and  American  parentage. 
Has  had  measles,  whooping-cough  and  conjunctivitis.  The  cause  of  the 
condition  is  supposed  to  be  sickness. 

This  boy  is  one  of  four  children,  the  two  older  being  normal, 
the  youngest  died  at  birth  with  the  mother.  Another  cause  of 
this  boy's  defect  is  said  to  be  a  blow  on  the  head,  received  from 
a  heavy  piece  of  iron  at  the  time  he  was  four  years  old. 


PROBABLY   HEREDITARY.     MENTALITY   8 


291 


The  probability  of  hereditary  defect  comes  from  the  fact  that 
one  of  the  mother's  sisters  had  a  defective  child.  All  of  the 
father's  family  are  normal  and  they  are  a  respectable  colored 
family.  Of  the  mother's  sibs  and  parents,  practically  nothing 
is  known,  as  they  are  in  the  South.  As  a  child,  our  boy's  defect 
was  not  noticed.     He  was  sent  to  school  but  could  never  learn 


CHART    174 


[HH-^ 


o 


SlH-66666ti[ii 


9  YRs.        e  Nos. 


mill    I   iiiiiiii 
9 


anything.  From  being  a  healthy  child,  he  developed  one  sick- 
ness after  another  and  was  constantly  ailing.  Now  he  walks 
one  sided,  is  not  obedient,  is  fond  of  music,  excitable  and  nervous  ; 
is  fond  of  play,  is  not  truthful  nor  trustworthy,  is  sly,  obstinate, 
passionate. 


CASE  175.  IVA  X.  41  years  old.  Mentality  8.  Has  been  here  13 
years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  The  child  was  nursed  by 
the  mother;  was  strong;  the  defect  was  not  noticed  until  eight  or  nine 
years  of  age.  It  was  thought  to  be  the  result  of  a  shock  to  the  mother 
during  pregnancy. 

The  father  was  sixty-one  years  old  and  the  mother  forty-one 
when  Iva  was  born. 

Iva  is  a  very  normal  looking  woman,  of  good  countenance; 
can  do  about  the  usual  amount  of  reading,  writing  and  counting 
for  a  child  of  her  mental  age.     Her  hand-writing  is  poor  but  the 


292  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

structure  of  her  letter  is  fairly  good.  She  is  cheerful,  affectionate, 
willing,  truthful,  good-natured;  has  long  since  reached  her 
limit  in  trainability  and  occupies  herself  with  sewing,  fancy-work, 
dressmaking,  etc. 

Iva  comes  of  an  excellent  family,  and  many  of  her  brothers 
and  half-brothers  are  able  men. 

This  seems  to  be  an  illustration  of  those  cases  where  a  man 
marries  a  second  wife  without  being  so  particular  as  to  her 

CHART     175 


iNi[J6(N)ti666 


:N)iN](N)(t)[N]  [55"SS5i^5[^ 
(N)[N](N)     m\   ®S)   EiS5S®§& 

^*^^  ^*^^  A  TWINS  cnr-p/^u 


family  and  ability  as  he  was  of  the  first  wife's.  While  we  do  not 
know  that  this  second  wife  was  not  of  normal  intelligence  we  do 
know  that  her  brother  was  feeble-minded,  and  this  fact  taken 
with  Iva's  condition  would  lead  us  clearly  to  the  conclusion  that 
this  wife  was  at  least  a  carrier  of  defect,  and  that  defect  has 
shown  itself  in  Iva. 

CASE  176.  KURT  D.  24  years  old.  Mentality  8.  Has  been  here  11 
years.     American  born,  nationality  of  parents  unknown. 

Kurt  was  thirteen  years  old  when  admitted,  did  not  under- 
stand language  very  well,  was  not  always  obedient  to  command, 
speech  imperfect ;  did  not  recognize  color  or  form,  could  not  com- 
pletely dress  or  undress  himself.     He  came  from  the  Almshouse. 

After  admission  he  improved  very  rapidly.  In  the  course  of 
four  years,  he  had  learned  to  read  in  the  First  Reader  and  to 


CASE   173,  FLORENCE   L.,    AGE   25. 

CASE   176,  KURT   D.,    AGE   24. 

CASE    177,  BYRON    D.,    AGE   25. 

CASE   180,  THEODORA    X.,    AGE    36. 


MENTALLY  8. 
MENTALLY  8. 
MENTALLY  7. 
MENTALLY  7. 


^top  left) 
(top  right) 


PROBABLY  HEREDITARY.     MENTALITY  8  293 

write ;    could    make    simple    number 

combinations,  knew  all  colors,  could 

remember    two    or    three    facts    in    a 

story.     He  never  got  farther  than  this  ,  - 

^«         S"      Ic    Ic    ic 
with  his  bookwork,  but  did  very  good       r~j — r— Q    Ll  LJ  [J 

basketry,  was  also  good  in  woodwork ; 

learned  to  knit,  and  became  one  of 

the  best  workers  in  the  mending  room. 

The    following    extract    from    the 

Field    Worker's    report    is    the    best 

account  we  can  give  of  Kurt's  family. 

While  it  contributes  nothing  to  our  study  of  the  heredity  it 

shows  a  social  condition  that  is  indeed  appalling. 

February  28,  19 10. 

^'Of  all  the  doleful  days  I  have  ever  spent,  and  of  all  the  hide- 
ous abodes  of  squalor  and  crime  I  have  ever  entered,  Friday 
February  25th,  1910  stands  out  alone  and  unequalled.  The 
veritable  'Hexen  Kuche,'  is  to  be  found  in  South  Jersey,  where 
imps  and  devils  preside. 

"When  I  stopped  to  see  Mr. he  seemed  to  know  very  Httle, 

but  as  I  pressed  the  matter  there  were  many  questions  he  could 
answer.  First  'Kurt's'  father  had  'gotten  in'  with  a  good 
many  women  not  Kurt's  mother,  and  the  mother  of  Kurt  had 
had  similar  experiences  with  men  not  his  father ;  the  family  in 
all  its  connections  is  the  lowest  of  the  low,  living  in  remote 
cabins  that  every  now  and  then  vomit  forth  their  brood  to  be  a 
pest  in  the  land,  and  to  finally  go  and  fill  our  jail  and  almshouse 
records.  Lucky  the  boy  that  finds  entrance  in  an  Institution  like 
Vineland  ! 

"  The  information  was  all  of  an  indefinite  character  except 
that  the  grandmother  was  living  in  a  cabin  about  a  mile  away. 
I  had  time  before  my  train  went,  to  go  to  see  her,  so  I  started 
at  once.     The  day  was  raw  and  cold,  the  poverty  of  the  entire 


294  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

neighborhood  appalling,  so  that  my  spirits  were  already  running 
very  low.  It  was  the  presiding  witch  herself  who  opened  the 
cabin  door  and  stood  frowning  on  me.  She  could  not  at  once 
grasp  the  situation  nor  answer  my  questions  intelligently.  With 
all  my  heart,  I  wished  to  turn  back,  and  run,  but  instead  I  said, 
*  Perhaps  you  will  let  me  come  in  and  then  perhaps  I  can  make 
the  matter  clearer  to  you.'  She  led  the  way  into  the  inner 
room  where  a  woman  and  man  were  sitting  bundled  in  heavy 
outside  wraps.  The  latter  looked  like  a  desperado  such  as  one 
reads  about  in  books.  He  wore  heavy  boots,  with  his  trousers 
tucked  into  them,  his  hands  were  thrust  into  his  pockets,  while 
a  great  plush  cap  rounded  out  the  contour  made  by  his  jet-black 
shaggy  hair  and  beard.  A  pair  of  jet-black  eyes  gUstened  under 
heavy  eyebrows,  his  feet  were  on  the  cook-stove  and  his  chair 
tilted  back.  He  did  not  offer  to  move  as  I  entered,  but  later 
when  he  rose  I  saw  that  the  cabin  ceiHng  was  too  low  for  him 
and  that  he  was  a  giant  in  strength  and  limb.  The  woman 
opposite  him  was  of  the  same  type  and  both  are  doubtless  travel- 
ling the  same  road. 

'^  The  old  woman  was  brown  and  shriveled,  a  three  cornered 
shawl  covered  her  head;  deep  and  repulsive  Hnes  on  her  face 
told  of  the  unholy  Hfe  she  had  Hved. 

''  To  make  room  for  me,  she  pushed  the  revolting  remains  of 
the  day's  dinner  away  from  one  corner  of  the  table  and  I  sat  down. 
The  facts  I  obtained  were  meager,  for  as  it  proved,  her  daughter 
was  not  the  mother  of  Kurt,  but  only  one  of  the  women  his  father 
had  ^gotten  in'  with  before  he  'got  in'  with  the  mother. 

"  The  names  all  these  people  go  by,  seem  to  mean  very  little. 
Surely,  they  are  not  hallowed  by  the  record  of  any  baptism,  and 
I  doubt  if  any  legal  records  give  them  a  right  to  the  name  they 
bear.  At  present  the  old  woman  goes  by  the  name  of  Doyl  but 
she  is  the  mother  of  a  batch  of  Adley  boys  who  earn  their  living 
mainly  by  steahng.  The  mother  of  Kurt  went  by  the  name  of 
Emily  Core  and  lived  about ,  still  further  down  in  Jersey. 


PROBABLY  HEREDITARY.     MENT.\LITY   7  295 

She  has  a  boy  called  Isaiah  D.  but  not  belonging  to   Kurt's 

father,  who  lives  in ,  if  one  can  call  an  existence  like  his  living. 

The  grandfather  was  George  D.,  Uving  in  —  and  there  were 
other  brothers  and  sisters.  Whether  the  old  woman  was  born 
feeble-minded  or  whether  it  is  only  the  stupor  engendered  by  her 
hideous  Kfe  I  do  not  know,  for  she  does  not  belong  to  any  cate- 
gory I  have  yet  encountered.  Certainly  such  a  woman,  let 
her  condition  be  one  way  or  the  other,  has  no  right  to  continue 
to  exhale  her  renown  over  the  land  and  to  afford  the  hideous 
protection  to  vice  and  crime  which  she  is  certainly  doing.  I  left 
her  with  feehngs  of  loathing  and  disgust,  such  as  human  beings 
seldom  engender  in  me.  I  had  three  quarters  of  an  hour  to  wait 
for  the  train  after  I  reached  the  dingy  Httle  station,  which  was 
only  a  shed.  It  was  too  filthy  to  stand  in,  so  I  went  out  into 
the  bleak  cold  wind.  Soon  the  woman  whom  I  had  seen  bundled 
by  the  stove  in  the  cabin  I  had  left  came  up.  She  was  going 
on  the  same  train.  Her  instincts  were  sociable  and  she  attempted 
to  interest  me  in  her  Hfe." 

CASE  177.  BYRON  D.  25  years  old.  Mentality  7.  Has  been  here 
II  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  measles  and  whoop- 
ing-cough.    Condition  said  to  be  congenital. 

Byron  was  admitted  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  at  that  time  it  is 

recorded  — 

''interested,  works  his  hands  with  a  nervous  movement,  when 
displeased  draws  lips  back  from  his  teeth  and  looks  like  an  ani- 
mal. Talks  in  a  babyish  manner,  reads,  counts  to  one  hundred, 
can  add,  subtract,  divide  and  multiply ;  knows  no  colors  but  red 
and  blue.  In  school  goes  with  six  year  old  children.  Can  do  an 
errand  and  some  housework,  also  some  barn-work ;  is  fond  of 
babies  and  animals." 

Here  he  learned  to  read  in  the  Second  Reader  but  could  not 
spell  well,  appeared  lazy,  could  write  nicely  from  copy  but  noth- 
ing without  it.  It  was  found  that  the  hot  weather  affected  him 
very  seriously  and  seemed  to  make  him  crazy. 


296 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


Our  first  Binet  test  also  indicated  insanity,  thru  the  scatter- 
ing which  appeared.  This  condition  developed  and  a  few  months 
ago  he  had  to  be  transferred  to  a  State  Hospital. 

Again  the  family  history  pretty  well  explains  Byron's  condi- 
tion. He  is  one  of  three  children.  The  oldest  died  in  infancy 
probably  from  neglect,  the  next,  a  girl,  is  married  and  has  three 
children  of  whom  one,  at  least,  is  defective.  The  last  one  is  too 
young  to  determine.  The  middle  one  appears  normal ;  it  is  not 
possible  to  say  surely.     This  case  is  interesting  as  being  one  of 


CHART     177 


(N)      (N> 


fm  n^  m)  N  [ni  (n)  E^  (N)  (N)  E 


lYRS 


§56<k>6^^ih^ ' 


iN][N](N)  [iir-p^di 

^  I         r  BYRON  I 


(N)  iSu5 


those  that  are  connected  with  insanity.  The  father's  family 
seems  good  and  the  mother's  parents  were  probably  normal  and 
her  uncles  and  aunts  were  normal.  The  cousins  so  far  as  known 
are  also  normal  altho  many  are  undetermined.  The  mother  has 
a  sister  who  was  epileptic.  She  married  a  normal  man,  how- 
ever, and  there  are  no  defectives  among  the  descendants.  The 
mother  herself  is  insane.  Her  first  attack  occurred  shortly 
after  the  birth  of  her  child.  She  recovered  from  that,  but 
at  the  birth  of  the  second  child,  the  same  condition  again 
resulted.  When  Byron  was  born,  however,  there  was  no 
insanity.  Later  it  developed  and  she  is  now  in  the  State 
Hospital. 


PROBABLY   HEREDITARY.     MENTALITY    7 


297 


CHART    178 


Q-rO 


D-rO 


515n~5~~& 


<^ 


Mr 

6U  • 


[S^    iri(N)(N).(N)[!]i(N)'ii[^(N)<i[N] 

'-T^  ^^-^  ^•^    ^'^  SPiSJl  DEUCATE         <«•  »    ST.  VITUS'     2 


VXKRENE. 

CASE  178.  WARREN  E.  28  years  old.  Mentality  7.  Has  been  here 
15  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  convulsions  at  20 
months ;  has  had  measles  and  muscular  rheumatism.  Condition  said  to 
be  congenital. 

Warren  was  thirteen  years  old  when  admitted,  had  small 
forehead,  upper  portion  of  the  head  large,  leaned  forward  when 
walking,  muscular  coordination  poor;  had  no  idea  of  color  or 
form,  did  not  know  the  alphabet,  had  attended  pubhc  school 
two  terms.  The  defect  is  said  to  have  appeared  between  eleven 
and  twelve  years  of  age.  Mother  had  sick  headaches.  Warren 
has  never  been  able  to  learn  anything  from  books  nor  make  any 
approach  to  skilled  work ;  he  makes  beds,  cleans  floors  in  the 
cottage  and  does  such  rough  work. 

A  cousin  is  feeble-minded.  There  are  many  individuals  unde- 
termined and  it  is  probable  that  there  is  hereditary  defect. 

CASE  179.  GUS  N.  28  years  old.  Mentality  7.  Has  been  here  6 
years.  American  born;  father  Irish,  mother  American.  Supposed  cause  of 
condition,  "  acute  sickness."  Has  had  whooping-cough,  scarlet  fever  and 
Bright's  disease;  also  diphtheria,  grippe  and  uremic  convulsions.  The 
family  physician  asserts  that  the  child  was  nearly  smothered  at  birth.  The 
defect  was  noticeable  after  the  attack  of  grip  in  his  seventh  year. 

Upon  admission  at  the  age  of  twenty-one,  he  knew  the  alpha- 
bet and  could  count  to  a  hundred  by  fives.  He  has  learned 
somewhat,  can  write  a  Httle  and  read  a  Httle,  but  Hke  all  such 


298 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


cases  is  better  in  industrial  work.  He  works  with  the  gardener 
all  day,  talks  distinctly  and  quite  sensibly ;  does  ordinary  work ; 
is  slow,  not  able  to  move  quickly;  timid,  not  very  cheerful, 
willing  and  tries  ;  cannot  learn  a  new  occupation  quickly  ;  works 
in  the  shoe-shop,  can  do  housework  or  work  about  the  barn; 
is  somewhat  cranky  and  quarrelsome,  sometimes  very  profane, 
not  always  truthful  or  honest.  This  case  is  less  conclusive  than 
many  of  the  hereditary  character.  The  diseases  enumerated 
for  this  child  would  seem,  according  to  the  general  idea,  to  be 


<5T^K) 


CHART    179 


D 


IT 


6  (N)[N]tiiNi— p-(c)id(N)i^t]ii  666 

>r      ^^  NEURonc  2  i       i       y  ^^ 


A   (N)I^(N) 


able  to  account  for  his  condition.  Nevertheless  there  are  other 
indications.  The  father's  family  as  far  as  we  know  is  thoroughly 
normal.  The  father  himself  was  an  able  man.  The  mother  is 
decidedly  neurotic  and  very  probably  could  be  called  feeble- 
minded. She  has  a  brother  who  is  alcoholic  and  probably  also 
feeble-minded.  Another  brother  is  alcoholic.  Their  father  died 
of  "  water  on  the  brain."  The  mother  died  at  the  advanced  age 
of  83.  Her  mind  failed  before  death.  A  cousin  of  our  boy's 
mother  was  insane.  There  was  considerable  tuberculosis  also 
on  her  side.  So  that  it  is  fairly  clear  that  we  have  a  morbid 
heredity,  if  not  a  distinctly  feeble-minded  ancestry. 

CASE  180.  THEODORA  X.  36  years  old.  Mentality  7.  Has  been 
here  22  years.  American  born,  of  American  parentage.  Assigned  cause, 
"  the  father  treated  her  brutal  in  infancy." 


SEPARATED 


CHART   180 

I 


(2)  '^"^J"'"   \n\  □ (n) 


PROBABLY  HEREDITARY.     MENTALITY   6  299 

Theodora  is  a  high  grade  imbecile.  When  admitted  at  the 
age  of  14,  she  had  not  learned  to  read  nor  write,  but  has  learned 
since ;  can  now  write  a  fair  letter  but  makes  Uttle  use  of  her 
abihty  in  this  direction.  She  is  a  very  typical  girl  of  her  class, 
does  well  in  housework,  can  do  sewing  and  crocheting  but  cannot 
count  the  stitches.  She  is  usually  sober,  quiet,  affectionate, 
willing  and  tries,  truthful,  excitable  and  sensitive.  Does  not 
need  close  supervision, 
is  easily  managed  when 
kindness  is  used;  is  a 
fine  Institution  worker; 
does  dressmaking  and 
pantry  work;  is  very 
cleanly. 

Her  father  is  feeble- 
minded, her  mother  is 
in  an  Insane  Asylum. 
The  mother  has  a  family  of  five  children  by  a  normal  man  to 
whom  she  was  not  married.  These  children  seem  to  be  normal 
and  their  children  normal ;  more  than  this  we  have  been  unable 
to  determine.  It  is,  altogether,  a  poor  ignorant  family  and 
there  is  some  difficulty  in  telling  where  ignorance  ends  and  feeble- 
mindedness might  begin. 


«  CHOLY    •— •  ^^ 

THEODORA  X. 


©(N)(N)    (^ 


CASE  181.  WARREN  L.  34  years  old.  Mentality  6.  Has  been  here 
23  years.  American  born,  of  Irish  parents.  Cause  of  condition  said  to  be 
scarlatina  or  diphtheria.  Child  had  spasms  at  three  years  ;  has  had  measles, 
whooping-cough  and  scarlet  fever,  and  had  diphtheria  at  five  years. 

Warren  was  twelve  when  he  came  to  The  Training  School; 
shuffled  one  foot ;  mouth  was  usually  open ;  could  dress  him- 
self ;  understood  language  but  was  not  obedient ;  speech  was 
imperfect.  He  had  not  been  to  school  for  four  years  and  so  it  was 
said  he  had  forgotten  much  that  he  had  learned.  He  could  be 
managed  by  persuasion  but  was  excitable  and  nervous.     Two 


300  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

years  later  he  had  not  improved  much  in  school  and  did  not 
like  the  boys.  A  year  later  the  report  is,  —  ''school  progress 
not  great."  Four  years  after  that,  —  "no  school  progress  but 
a  real  help  in  laundry  and  cottage."  He  has  for  some  years 
been  an  excellent  helper  in  the  Institution,  especially  in  the 
laundry  and  cottage;    takes  care  of  small  children  nicely. 

CHART   181 


I  I  PARALYSIS  I 

liLiNr        i'a  I 


^^   dT  vN  J  WARREN  Lrr  *» 

HYDKOCEPHAUC  ^"-^  L 


65^  66b 


APPARENTLY  NORIUl. 


He  is  a  typical  simple-minded  man  such  as  is  to  be  found  in 
almost  any  community  and,  relatively  low  grade  as  he  is,  would 
not  be  thought  of  as  feeble-minded  by  a  great  many  people. 

It  has  been  difhcult  to  get  information  in  regard  to  his  family 
and  it  will  be  seen  from  the  chart  that  many  persons  are  left  unde- 
termined ;  there  is,  however,  enough  to  indicate  that  there  must 
be  defect  in  the  blood.  An  older  brother  is  distinctly  feeble- 
minded and  a  cousin  on  the  mother's  side  is  also  defective. 
This  might  indicate  that  the  defect  had  come  through  the  mother, 
altho  that  is  of  course  undetermined. 

CASE  182.  BENNY  L.  42  years  old.  Mentality  5.  Has  been  here  23 
years.  There  has  been  very  little  change  in  him  in  all  that  time.  He  could 
not  speak  at  all  at  four  years  of  age.     Has  had  smallpox. 

He  speaks  very  indistinctly,  can  hardly  be  understood  by  a 
stranger ;  helps  in  the  garden,  is  a  good  worker,  takes  care  of 
one  horse ;  does  not  any  longer  need  close  supervision ;  is  easily 
managed ;  has  a  very  low  forehead  and  a  small  head. 


CASE    181,    WARREN    L.,    AGE    34.  MENTALLY   6. 

CASE    182,    BENNY   L.,    AGE   42.  MENTALLY   5. 

PAcp    183,   MATTHEW   N.,   AGE   28.     MENTALLY   5. 


PROBABLY   HEREDITARY.     MENTALITY    5 


301 


The  heredity  chart  is  very  incomplete.  The  father  of  Benny 
is  feeble-minded.  Nothing  is  known  of  his  family  except  that 
his  brother  and  the  two  children  of  this  brother  died  of  tubercu- 
losis. The  mother  is  said  to  have  a  bad  temper,  is  excitable 
but  very  ambitious.  She  is  certainly  not  of  high  mentaHty 
but  cannot  be  called  feeble-minded  altho  she  may  be  a  border- 

CHART    182 

T 

IIP 


(^66 

<Lat  27 


N 


Hne  case.  Benny's  father  is  her  second  husband.  Nothing  is 
known  about  the  first,  except  that  he  had  tuberculosis.  By  him 
she  had  four  children,  none  of  whom  are  known  to  have  been 
defective,  neither  are  the  grandchildren  nor  the  great-grandchil- 
dren. 


CASE  183.  MATTHEW  N.  28  years  old.  Mentality  5.  Has  been 
here  15  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  whooping-cough 
at  the  age  of  three  and  measles  at  twelve.  Supposed  cause,  "  mother 
stepped  on  child's  head  when  one  year  old." 

Matthew  was  thirteen  years  old  when  admitted;  speech 
slightly  defective ;  could  count  a  Httle ;  could  handle  tools  and 
do  an  errand  ;  excitable  and  nervous  but  easily  managed ;  learned 
to  know  colors  and  copy  forms  very  neatly  ;  could  print  his  name 
from  copy.  He  never  got  beyond  making  a  few  letters  and 
figures  and  counting  to  ten.     At  present  he  works  about  the 


302 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


cottage,  making  beds,  doing  a  little  scrubbing ;  folds  papers,  etc. 
His  habits  are  good ;  he  has  a  hernia  and  is  not  able  to  do  any 
hard  work. 

This  is  a  family  in  which  it  has  been  impossible  to  get  much 
definite  information.  Matthew  is  one  of  thirteen  conceptions 
of  which  seven  resulted  in  miscarriages  or  still  births.  One 
sister  is  said  to  be  normal.  An  older  sister  is  feeble-minded. 
Of  the  father's  family  practically  nothing  is  known  except  that 
his  brother  and  his  father  had  paralysis.     The  mentality  of   the 


CHART     183 


d-rO 


D 


h^  6ae-p<Wo600c560 

r^r  ..±^  *  a    HUSBAND  <«■  .  \  MU»B*MO  '^  \  \ 


^       i.  i.  i.  4.  i.  d.3  *  •—•I— 


RATTHEWN. 


mother  is  undetermined.  She  had  a  normal  sister.  Her  mother 
was  twice  married  and  by  another  husband  had  a  feeble-minded 
son,  also  one  of  her  sisters  had  a  feeble-minded  child.  This 
would  seem  to  indicate  that  the  defect  has  come  thru  the 
mother's  family  and  thru  her  mother.  The  great-grandfather 
on  the  maternal  side  was  insane ;  also  two  of  his  grandchildren, 
and  three  of  his  daughters,  the  sisters  of  the  maternal  grand- 
mother, were  insane. 

CASE  184.  GERTIE  T.  22  years  old.  Mentality  5.  Has  been  here 
II  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Has  had  whooping-cough. 
Instruments  were  used  at  delivery.    The  case  is  said  to  have  been  congenital. 


PROBABLY   HEREDITARY.      MENTALITY    5 


303 


Gertie's  history  in  the  Institution  is  the  usual  one  for  girls  of 
her  type.  In  the  beginning  it  was  said  ''her  capacity  is  good, 
speech  perfect,  knows  alphabet,  does  not  read  nor  count,  knows 
color  and  form,  is  fond  of  music,  sweeps,  washes  dishes,  etc.,  is 
affectionate  and  fond  of  play,  usually  managed  by  coaxing"; 
four  years  later,  "knows  color  and  form,  can  sew  on  a  button 
without  help";  two  years  more,  "can  weave  a  simple  kinder- 
garten mat  with  help";    a  year  later,  "cottage  girl."     In  the 


CHART    184 


<5a 


^^    <L   PAR  ^"^      ^-^    ,^^ 


HUSBAND  N I 


Q  m^     m  (n)[S(n)(§® 

SRTIE  T.  j^ 

|n|  [n](n)[n| 


cottage  she  tries  to  help  a  Httle  but  does  not  accomplish  much. 
She  is  a  strong,  well-built  girl  with  clean  habits. 

The  hereditary  character  of  feeble-mindedness  could  never 
be  estabHshed  from  such  charts  as  Gertie's  family  shows.  Never- 
theless, the  fact  having  been  estabHshed,  we  can  doubtless  see 
the  hereditary  element  even  here. 

Gertie's  father  was  alcohoKc  but  of  his  mentahty  nothing  is 
known,  nor  is  anything  known  of  his  family,  except  that  a  brother 
was  called  a  "sissy,"  said  to  be  backward  and  laughed  a  great 
deal,  all  of  which  may  indicate  mental  defect  but  is  not  conclu- 
sive. On  the  mother's  side,  however,  there  is  more  trouble; 
although  her  immediate  family  were  not  mentally  defective  nor 
their  children  nor  grandchildren,  so  far  as  we  know ;  her  father 


304 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


was  alcoholic  and  died  of  paralysis;  he  had  a  sister  who  was 
feeble-minded,  and  a  brother  who  had  five  children,  one  of  whom 
was  insane  and  another  deaf  and  dumb ;  this  would  certainly 
indicate  some  serious  defect  in  that  family.  Still  more,  the 
mother's  mother  had  a  sister  who  was  insane. 


D 


CHART    185 


^ 


D 


(L70 


PARALYSIS" 


4N  IN  IN 

lU  2T  ffl 


I 

CASE  185.  MARY  X.  22  years  old.  Mentality  5.  Has  been  here  15 
years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Has  had  sore  eyes  from  birth, 
has  scrofula  ;  has  cleft  palate. 

Mary  was  admitted  at  the  age  of  six ;  had  no  school  training. 
A  year  later  it  is  recorded  that  she  could  wash  herself,  was  more 
careful  of  her  clothing;  was  helping  with  the  small  children, 
could  string  beads  by  colors  by  twos.  Another  year,  she  had 
learned  to  sew  neatly  in  the  kindergarten,  could  write  numbers 
from  one  to  four  and  understood  them  from  one  to  eight;  the 
next  year  learned  to  know  words  in  print.  She  never  got  much 
farther  than  this  in  the  three  R's  but  improved  in  housework, 
and  could  sew  on  buttons  fairly  well ;  is  a  cottage  helper. 

This  is  another  case  where  it  is  impossible  to  show  positively 
the  feeble-mindedness  in  a  direct  line.  In  one  of  the  collateral 
lines  there  are  two  other  cases,  but  it  would  perhaps  be  unsafe 


PROBABLY  HEREDITARY.     MENTALITY   4 


305 


to  conclude  surely  that  it  was  hereditary  altho  the  probabiHty 
seems  to  be  very  strong.  That  there  is  morbid  heredity  is  per- 
fectly clear  when  we  consider  the  unusual  amount  of  disease 
from  which  this  family  has  suffered.  Furthermore,  we  have  here 
another  case  of  twins,  one  feeble-minded  and  the  other  normal. 
The  hereditary  character  of  the  defect  is  the  only  thing  that 
easily  explains  such  a  condition. 


CHART   186 


D 


a 


ihi)^ 


i.40 

BRAIFT 
FEVEK 


(fe  h  [N]  [n]  [N]  (n)  ^^-p-^"[N]  [n](^(n)6(3 


N 


k 


(§S) 


(n)(n)  (n) 


CASE  186.  FRED  D.  21  years  old.  Mentality  4.  Has  been  here  10 
years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  whooping-cough  at  the 
age  of  six,  scarlet  fever  in  the  same  year,  German  measles  at  ten.  The 
cause  of  the  defect  as  assigned  by  the  parents  is  "  shock  of  the  mother  at 
finding  her  mother  dead,"  or  else  "  la  grippe  which  the  child  had  at  four 
months." 

Fred  is  a  very  low  grade  case  and  yet  it  is  interesting  to  note 
what  they  expected  of  him,  at  the  time  of  admission,  at  the  age 
of  eleven  ;  it  is  recorded  that  ''his  appearance  is  normal,  capacity 
normal,  altho  speech  imperfect ;  uses,  in  talking,  no  articles,  prep- 
ositions nor  conjunctions ;  counts  to  five,  knows  part  of  the 
alphabet,  memory  variable,  remembers  things  of  a  year  ago  but 
forgets  things  of  a  day  ago.  Attention  good,  can  imitate  well." 
Two  years  later  ''saws  and  planes  very  well ;  basketry  is  crude, 
lacks  ambition;    knits  fairly  well."     Three  years  later   "does 


3o6 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


poorer  work  in  English  than  a  year  ago.  Doing  well  in  basketry." 
Two  years  later,  "is  doing  housework,  is  with  the  outside  group." 

At  the  present  time  he  is  doing  very  Httle ;  helping,  or  trying 
to  help  with  the  housework. 

It  is  not  perfectly  clear  from  the  family  history  that  this  is  a 
hereditary  case.  Fred  is  the  only  child.  The  mother  is  normal 
but  immoral.  She  has  goitre,  suffers  from  heart  trouble,  is  very 
nervous.  Her  mother  was  insane.  Her  father  had  phlebitis. 
Fred's  father  is  feeble-minded,  alcoholic,  and  syphiHtic.  An 
uncle  of  his  is  epileptic,  nothing  else  is  known  of  the  family. 

The  mother  has  two  brothers,  both  normal,  with  normal 
children,  one  having  normal  grandchildren.  The  father  has  three 
brothers  and  two  sisters,  normal.  His  mother  was  a  normal 
woman.     She  died  at  seventy-five  of  old  age. 


CHART    187 


[HP 


O 


10  WIFE  I  '       I 


1ST  HUSBAND 


H®   (^SWS@P0^^ 


:n)(n] 

CASE  187.  MALCOLM  E.  24  years  old.  Mentality  4.  Has  been 
here  13  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  measles,  whoop- 
ing-cough at  the  age  of  two,  grippe,  marasmus  at  the  age  of  six  months. 

After  the  usual  trial  in  school,  where  he  failed  to  accompHsh 
anything  in  the  three  R's,  he  gradually  settled  down  to  become  a 
good  cottage  helper,  where  he  did  very  good  housework.  He 
was  cheerful,  happy  and  contented. 

The  chart  is  interesting  because  of  the  double  marriages  that 


CASE    187,    MALCOLM    E.,    AGE   24.     MENTALLY   4.     (centre) 
CASE  194,   URY   M..   AGE  20.  MENTALLY   3.     (bottom  left) 


PROBABLY   HEREDITARY.     MENTALITY   4 


307 


came  in.  Malcolm's  mother  belonged  to  a  thoroughly  good, 
respectable  family;  her  first  husband  was  about  her  equal 
and  they  had  a  large  family  of  normal  children  and  grand- 
children. Her  second  husband  was  the  father  of  Malcolm ;  he 
was  very  alcohohc,  probably  also  mentally  defective.  Indeed 
he  was  so  considered  in  his  youth.  He  had  been  previously 
married  and  had  a  family  of  children,  part  of  whom  were  normal, 
and  the  rest  were  alcohohc  or  died  in  infancy.  Unfortunately 
we  have  been  unable  to  learn  anything  about  his  sibs,  his  parents, 
or  the  grandchildren.  From  all  that  we  know  it  would  seem 
highly  probable  that  the  father  was  defective  and  that  this  is  a 
true  case  of  heredity. 


CHART   188 


Q-tQ 


a  8VR8  \_y 


4i  i.       QOmtB 


3-r-(N) 


Sno  HUSBAND 


SISTEB  TO  atWII»9 


N 


N 


SUICIDE  I  FUGHTY 


m^ 


a 


CASE  188.  IRWIN  I.  23  years  old.  Mentality  4.  Has  been  here  9 
years.  Americanborn,  of  German  parents.  Has  had  measles  and  whooping- 
cough.     Supposed  cause,  "  fell  down  a  flight  of  stairs  at  the  age  of  two." 

Irwin  is  much  under  size,  a  boy  to  whom  the  term  ''dull"  has 
seemed  perfectly  apphcable.  School  work  is  entirely  beyond 
him,  he  has  to  be  watched  that  he  may  accomphsh  anything ;  he 
is  cheerful,  sober,  quiet  and  obedient ;  very  forgetful,  sensitive ; 
likes  knitting  but  cannot  make  a  success  of  it ;  works  in  the  laun- 
dry ;  likes  being  with  the  machinery ;  does  a  httle  housework. 
He  has  recently  developed  symptoms  of  dementia  prascox. 
It  has  not  been  possible  to  get  very  much  data  in  regard  to 


3o8  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

this  family ;   two  older  brothers  of  Irwin  are  alcoholic ;  tvv^o  half- 
brothers  are  alcoholic  and  feeble-minded. 

Irwin's  father  was  alcoholic  and  committed  suicide.  A  ma- 
ternal grand-aunt  of  Irwin  had  a  goitre  and  died  in  the  hospital. 
Irwin's  father's  brother  was  deaf  and  dumb.  A  cousin  was 
alcoholic  and  hanged  himself.  Taking  all  these  facts  together  we 
cannot  but  conclude  that  we  have  hereditary  feeble-minded- 
ness. 

CHART   189 


BESSIE  T.  BABY 

k 


CASE  189.  BESSIE  T.  10  years  old.  Mentality  4.  Has  been  here  2 
years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  A  case  of  cerebro-spinal 
meningitis.  Instruments  were  used  at  birth.  Condition  is  also  said  to  be 
congenital. 

Bessie  is  very  small  for  her  age ;  is  learning  to  walk  but  is 
making  very  little  improvement  in  other  lines;  understands  a 
command  and  can  do  a  Httle  errand. 

This  is  a  case  of  morbid  heredity  at  least,  whether  of  hereditary 
feeble-mindedness,  it  is  difficult  to  say  positively.  The  father 
was  alcoholic  and  abused  his  wife  at  the  time  of  her  pregnancy ; 
on  the  other  hand,  the  family  beheve  that  it  is  a  hereditary  defect 
and  say  that  there  is  defect  in  the  family.  There  is  certainly  a 
great  deal  of  physical  trouble  and  nervousness  and  it  is  quite 
possible  there  is  hereditary  mental  defect  also.  A  maternal 
uncle  of  Bessie's  is  a  feeble-minded  epileptic,  but  whether  the 
feeble-mindedness  is  congenital  or  the  result  of  the  epilepsy  we 
do  not  know.  Altho  Bessie  has  had  spinal  meningitis,  it  appears 
that  the  defect  was  noticed  before  that  time,  hence  the  prob- 
ability is  very  strong  that  it  is  an  hereditary  case. 


PROBABLY   HEREDITARY.     MENTALITY   3 


309 


CHART   190 


D 


O 


n-r-o 


WHOLE  FAMILY    I  VERY  NERVOUS 


NEUKOnC  I        APOPLEXY 


nT5 


^  [5®  B  ®  i£i[^©©(N)  6 


NERVOUS.  NERVOUS. 


CASE  190.  OSCAR  C.  45  years  old.  Mentality  3.  Has  been  here 
24  years.     American  born,  of  American  parents.    An  epileptic. 

Oscar  is  a  prematurely  old  man,  at  present  of  low  grade.  He 
was  perhaps  brighter  once;  how  much  of  his  earlier  mentality 
the  epilepsy  has  destroyed  we  have  no  record. 

We  have  been  unable  to  get  sufficient  information  in  regard  to 
the  family  to  mark  very  many  of  them  as  either  normal  or  de- 
fective. A  cousin  was  defective.  He  had  three  other  cousins 
and  a  sister  normal,  but  the  sister  is  nervous  and  melancholy. 
The  mother  and  sibs  were  all  highly  nervous;  altogether  it  is 
probable  that  there  is  hereditary  feeble-mindedness. 

CASE  191.  SAMMY  E.  18  years  old.  Mentality  3.  Has  been  here 
7  years.  American  born,  of  American  parentage.  Had  convulsions  be- 
tween the  ages  of  three  and  nine  months;  had  whooping-cough  at  nine 
months.  One  theory  of  the  cause  of  the  defect  is  a  blood  clot  on  the  brain 
due  to  the  whooping-cough. 

This  is  rather  a  low  grade  case.  Upon  admission  he  could 
not  talk  and  does  not  yet  to  any  great  extent,  and  the  few  words 
that  he  does  say  are  very  indistinct.  After  admission,  he  learned 
to  dress  himself  and  could  go  on  simple  errands,  tried  to  say  a  few 
words ;  has  never  been  able  to  learn  anything  from  the  school 
work;  can  dust  the  room  and  rub  the  floors  a  little,  and  run 
errands. 


3IO 


FEEBLE-IVONDEDNESS 


The  heredity  in  this  case  must  be  considered  somewhat  in 
doubt.  We  have  marked  the  father  feeble-minded  on  the  au- 
thority of  a  physician  who  knew  him  welL  So  far  as  we  have 
learned,  however,  there  are  no  other  defectives  in  his  family  and 


CHART   191 


D 


o 


DtOD-t-O       d 


o 


6^am-y-^5ft  56-r6i©^, 


nothing  of  great  significance  to  account  for  his  condition.  The 
family  is  not  high  grade  either  socially  or  mentally.  The  mother 
of  our  boy  is  of  low  type  morally,  sexually  loose,  somewhat  al- 
cohoHc  and  said  to  be  thieving.  Very  little  accurate  information 
could  be  obtained  about  this  family  and  it  must  remain  an  un- 
certain one. 


CASE  192.  HIRAM  T.  62  years  old.  Mentality  3.  Has  been  here 
8  years.  Probably  American  born ;  father  at  least,  of  Scotch  descent, 
nationality  of  mother  unknown. 

This  is  an  interesting  case  of  a  low  grade  person  who  has  lived 
to  an  advanced  age.  He  manifests  the  characteristics  of  a  child 
of  three,  plays  with  toys,  will  sweep  and  dust  a  Httle,  will  pick 
up  trash;  is  rather  restless  but  obedient,  timid,  somewhat  ob- 
stinate ;  is  exceptionally  fond  of  sweets ;  he  talks  very  little  and 
indistinctly. 


PROBABLY   HEREDITARY.     MENTALITY   3 


311 


Not  enough  of  the  family  history  is 
known  to  decide  with  certainty  whether 
this  is  a  case  of  hereditary  or  acquired 
feeble-mindedness  ;  the  mother  was 
insane,  a  younger  brother  was  feeble- 
minded and  died  at  forty-five,  a  still 
younger  one  was  considered  peculiar 
but  his  actual  condition  could  not  be 
determined.  The  sisters  seem  to  be 
normal  and  have  normal  children  and 
grandchildren. 


CHART  132 


O 


riikti(3(N)(N) 

i 


CHART  193 


N 


<N)  O 


\£\    S     ® 


(N)(i)  [N]  6  \N\  [n1-y(n)  \k  [Nl(N)[N]  l^l^^^'  0  «  ®E] 


o 


CASE  193.  WALTER  X.  40  years  old.  Mentality  3.  Has  been  here 
16  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  whooping-cough  at 
three  years  and  measles  at  four. 

Walter  is  a  low  grade  boy  with  no  marked  stigmata,  does  not 
talk  distinctly,  has  never  been  able  to  do  anything  of  note  in 
school  work ;  at  one  time  could  count  to  ten  and  spell  cat ;  does 
a  little  work  around  the  house  such  as  rubbing  the  floor  and 
dusting ;  or  he  can  work  out  of  doors.  He  is  very  affectionate, 
quiet,  obedient,  rather  excitable.  He  was  a  strong  babe  and 
nursed  by  his  mother.     The  defect  was  not  noticed  until  he  was 


3 1 2  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

ten  years  of  age,  which  would  seem  to  indicate  that  at  one  time 
he  may  have  been  brighter  than  at  present. 

It  was  suggested  that  his  defect  may  have  been  caused  by 
fright,  the  father  fell  down  stairs;  presumably  this  may  have 
frightened  the  mother  during  pregnancy. 

It  is  not  sure  that  this  is  a  case  of  hereditary  defect  altho  an 
aunt  of  our  boy  was  feeble-minded.  The  father  and  mother  are 
both  normal,  the  former  has  kidney  trouble  and  the  latter  chronic 
liver  trouble.  There  is  a  good  deal  of  physical  defect  thruout 
the  family,  which  would  seem  to  indicate  a  low  physical  tone. 
Walter's  mother  was  the  fourth  of  fifteen  conceptions,  three 
resulting  in  miscarriages.  There  seems  to  be  a  hereditary  ten- 
dency to  obesity.  A  sister  of  the  mother  weighed  340  pounds,  the 
mother  herself  weighed  220  and  their  mother  weighed  360  pounds. 

CASE  194.  URY  M.  20  years  old.  Mentality  3.  Has  been  here  7 
years.  American  born,  of  Irish  parents.  Had  measles  at  two  years,  whoop- 
ing-cough at  five,  pneumonia  at  six. 

Ury  is  very  low  grade.      He  has  never  been  known  to  say 
more  than  one  or  two  words.     He  eats  a  great  deal ;  sleeps  nat- 
urally ;    can  rub   floors  a  little 

CHART  194  ,  .    , 

A  r""n     and  can  pick  up  trash ;    needs 

LJ~~~1       O  LJ  LI  close  supervision,  has  very  bad 

habits,  is  cheerful,  very  excit- 
able and  destructive.  His  toes 
are  webbed. 

Il  He  is  second  in  a  family  of 

""'"'■  six.     The  first  is  supposed  to  be 

in  the  Navy.  The  next  younger  girl  died  of  spinal  meningitis 
at  eleven.  The  next  one  is  living,  but  unknown.  The  last  two 
are  feeble-minded  and  in  a  Home.  The  father  was  alcohoHc 
and  committed  suicide  by  drowning.  The  mother,  as  well  as 
the  father,  is  undetermined  as  to  mental  condition.  They  have 
all  been  in  the  almshouse  at  least  six  different  times. 


fiif^s^ 


PROBABLY   HEREDITARY.      MENTALITY    2 


313 


CHART   195 


D 


<D 


VEBY  NERVOUS  \   '^""''''-E 


"i-,..-^-  *■  ZNo  wirr  <i8vns.      * 


2     Bjr-Dif>-\ttc    kJE-Dt/miO  t  ^-T^  ':^ 


NERVOUS  NERVOUS. 


CASE  195.  NATHAN  H.  37  years  old.  Mentality  2.  Has  been  here 
20  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  usual  children's 
diseases,  whooping-cough,  scarlet  fever  at  two  and  a  half,  ulcerated  stomach. 
Assigned  cause  of  condition,  "  mother  thrown  from  carriage." 

Nathan  is  a  profound  and  unimprovable  idiot.  Could  not 
speak,  had  bad  convulsions  when  young.  He  was  the  j&rst  of 
seven  conceptions ;  the  mother  had  two  miscarriages,  one  nor- 
mal, and  three  undetermined.  The  mother  was  sixteen  and 
the  father  forty  when  married ;  there  is  some  probability  that 
the  father  was  feeble-minded  since  he  had  a  feeble-minded 
daughter  by  another  wife.  He  and  two  brothers  suffered  from 
*' sleeping  paralysis."  A  sister  of  the  mother  had,  by  a  second 
husband,  at  least  one  feeble-minded  child,  while  only  two  of  her 
large  family  are  really  normal. 


CASE  196.  FRED  N.  22  years  old.  Mentality  2.  Has  been  here  6 
years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Has  had  measles  and  whoop- 
ing-cough. The  assigned  cause  of  his  condition  is  that  he  was  very 
severely  frightened  at  the  age  of  three  months  by  being  held  against  a 
piece  of  fur. 

He  is  somewhat  small  of  stature  but  about  the  average  weight ; 
talks  very  little  and  only  in  monosyllables;  does  not  do  very 
much,  and  only  the  simplest  sort  of  work;  can  partially  dress 
himself ;    at  present  works  around   the  boiler  house ;   has  very 


314 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


CHART  196 


^ bad    moral   habits,    has    long   since 

nqi  X  rh/^  A    reached   his   hmit   cf   development. 

^  ^w  Ygj.y  ^^|-jg  (,a.n  be  learned  of  his 
family  as  will  be  seen  from  the 
chart.  His  mother  is  feeble-minded ; 
but  his  father,  altho  evidently  nor- 
mal in  intelHgence,  is  an  unhappy 
disgruntled  person  who  seems  to 
have  a  grudge  against  the  world  in 
general,  and  his  relatives  in  particular,  both  his  own  and  his 
wife's. 


^  titi6ii     © 


k 


n 


CHART     197 

D 


-O        Q 

HEART  TROUBLE  <»•  «  0 


<N) 


"ii-      li  I  <"•  dT      APOPLEXYCANCER  3  d.  57  3  2 

HEART  ION  DESCENDANTS 

J..  TROIIHI.F 


(n)(n)(n)(n)(n)[n|  [NHn-<^  (n)  6  |n]  tl  (n) 


O       (§E] 


CASE  197.  BESSIE  S.  13  years  old.  Mentality  2.  Has  been  here 
5  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  epilepsy  at  one  year ; 
is  paralyzed.  Supposed  cause,  "  blood  clot  on  the  brain  from  falling  down 
stairs." 

Bessie  is  entirely  untrainable  and  of  the  lowest  grade;  does 
not  talk ;  does  not  sleep  well.  She  cries  a  great  deal,  does  no 
work,  had  convulsions  from  age  of  six  months  until  three 
years.     She  is  an  only  child. 

The  father  and  all  his  family,  that  can  be  found,  are  normal. 
Bessie's  mother  is  a  high  grade  feeble-minded  woman.      There 


PROBABLY   HEREDITARY.     MENTALITY    2 


315 


is  no  other  known  defect  in  her  family,  altho  of  her  father's  fam- 
ily nothing  is  known.  He  died  of  heart  trouble  at  the  age  of 
57.  A  brother  had  apoplexy,  another  had  cancer,  another 
brother  and  a  sister,  tuberculosis.  Their  father  died  at  73  of 
apoplexy,  the  mother  of  heart  trouble. 


CHART    198 


^^ 


o 


Q-rO 


n-Hb 


1^  I  I  "QUEER"    p^°  I  I 


N)      H  (n) 

"QUEER"  NERVOUS 


V-/  V-^     "^  '""'   ^— ^    ^-^    '"^  CLAUDE  T.  NERVOUS 

k 

(N) 

CASE  198.  CLAUDE  T.  25  years  old.  Mentality  3.  Has  been  here 
12  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Has  had  whooping-cough, 
cerebro-spinal  meningitis  at  the  age  of  one  and  a  half  years,  has  had  pneu- 
monia and  hip  disease.    Supposed  cause,  "  meningitis." 

Claude  is  a  low  grade  case  but  with  marked  pecuHarities.  He 
is  very  excitable,  rather  stubborn,  inclined  to  be  disobedient, 
altho  he  will  obey  those  whom  he  knows  he  must  obey;  has 
tuberculosis  of  the  hip  which  has  always  given  him  a  good  deal 
of  trouble.  He  has  an  excellent  memory  and  this  enables  him 
to  make  a  certain  show  of  learning  within  his  capacity.  For 
instance  he  will  sometimes  count  to  ten,  can  copy  writing,  knows 
all  of  the  letters  of  the  alphabet  but  does  not  always  say 
them.     He  likes    school  and  knitting;  has  made  great  chains 


3i6 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


by  twisting  wire  together,  this  requiring  considerable  strength 
and  manipulation. 

When  he  went  to  the  hospital  and  saw  a  tooth  extracted  he 
came  home  and  covered  sheets  of  paper  with  diagrams  like  the 
following : 


FIT 


PROBABLY  HEREDITARY.     MENTALITY   2  317 

One  sees  the  table  with  the  dentist's  forceps.  The  top  row 
of  figures  represents  the  open  mouths  with  the  forceps  and  the 
clothes  pin  that  the  dentist  uses  to  prevent  the  children  from 
injuring  their  teeth  by  biting  on  the  steel  forceps. 

After  a  while  he  left  out  the  forceps  and  made  hundreds  of 
faces,  a  Httle  later  these  were  left  unelaborated  with  only  dots  for 
nose  and  mouth ;  later  he  left  out  the  dots  and  covered  his 
paper  with  circles  which  he  drew  with  the  help  of  some  round 
object.  He  will  do  this  kind  of  thing  by  the  hour,  now  in  one 
line,  now  in  another.  He  is  of  no  help  or  use  to  any  one  and 
probably  would  not  be  even  if  he  were  not  lame. 

This  is  rather  a  difficult  family  to  understand ;  there  is  not 
enough  evidence  to  put  it  down  as  certainly  a  case  of  hereditary 
defect,  especially  in  view  of  the  fact^that  we  have  an  ample  cause 
in  spinal  meningitis.  Nevertheless  there  are  a  great  many  things 
that  make  us  feel  that  there  may  have  been  defect  in  the  family. 
At  least  there  is  a  good  deal  of  physical  trouble  and  a  cousin  of 
Claude's  was  also  feeble-minded  with  defective  speech  and  defec- 
tive eye-sight.  A  number  of  others  are  marked  questionable, 
which  means  that  they  were  borderline  cases  and  are  only  con- 
sidered normal  with  reservation. 


3i8 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


NEUROPATHIC    ANCESTRY 

The  following  37  cases,  Nos.  199  —  235,  compose  the  group  of 
cases  of  Neuropathic  Ancestry.  Here  are  grouped  the  famihes 
in  which  there  are  not  enough  defectives  to  indicate  hereditary 
feeble-mindedness,  but  there  are  more  or  less  neuropathic  con- 
ditions among  the  ancestry  —  such  as  paralysis,  apoplexy,  neu- 
rasthenia, epilepsy,  etc. 


n(N> 


|N]ilN][N]i  [Nl|i[t][t]   (n)(n)(n)[n]  (n)(^(n)[n1 

r-rr "-r*  ^"^ —  "^  ^r:r.,-„c     ^—^  ^— '  ^-^  tall   delicate 


[n](n)[n] 

ALL     DELICATE 


I  III    I  A 

•  •••••  (J 


CASE  199.  DANIEL  N.  39  years  old.  Mentality  11.  Has  been  here 
9  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Assigned  cause,  "  the 
presence  of  a  feeble-minded  servant  in  the  family  before  he  was  born." 

Daniel  was  thirty  years  old  before  he  entered  the  School ; 
he  had  been  well  trained  and  was  a  cheerful,  good-tempered, 
sober,  affectionate,  truthful,  honest  boy.  He  is  inclined  to  be  a 
little  morose  ;  is  quiet  and  obedient,  rather  forgetful ;  sometimes 
seems  rather  lazy,  but  on  the  whole  is  a  good  worker  under  direc- 
tion, somewhat  inclined  to  be  discontented.  Had  learned  rather 
more  school  work  than  most  boys  of  his  type  ;  can  read  and  write 
quite  a  Httle.  The  following  letter,  which  is  spelled  correctly, 
and  is  fairly  well  punctuated  and  paragraphed,  nevertheless  shows 
the  childish  way  of  looking  at  things ;  it  was  written  in  a  bold, 
heavy  boyish  hand,  perfectly  characteristic  of  his  mental  age : 


NEUROPATHIC   ANCESTRY.      MENTALITY    ii  319 

March  7,  1909. 
Miss  M : 

Now,  for  goodness  sake,  let  me  stay  away 
from  that  party  you  talked  about  giving  to  the  evening 
class  boys,  because  I  am  so  dead  tired  out  nights  from 
my  day's  work  that  I  positively  can  not  take  any  interest 
in  it ;  but,  if  you  insist  for  me  to  come  to  it,  for  pity 
sake  let  me  sit  on  my  chair  all  evening  from  the  beginning 
to  the  of  the  party  as  I  am  too  tired  out  to  take  any  part 
in  any  games  that  may  be  played  that  night.     You  told  me 
how  I  dressed  up  last  year  —  I  did  it  far  more  for  respect 
for  Miss  M  (and  Miss  B  if  I  went  to  her  then) , 
than  I  did  for  you  —  you  said  I  had  a  nice  looking  pair  of 
shoes  on  —  they  are  my  best  ones,  and  I  wear  them  to  evening 
class  nights,  because  they  are  hghter  weight  than  my 
working  ones,  and  as  for  my  suit  of  clothes,  it  is  come 
to  evening  class  with  those  clothes  on,  or  in  my  overhalls 
and  jumper  on  —  the  ones  I  work  with.     Sometimes  Mr.  M 
gives  2nd  period  evening  class  boys  whistle  signal  instead 
of  commands,  and  I  would  never  know  what 
was  next  if  some  person  did  not  give  the 
sign  on  the  sly. 

So,  whatever  you  do,  for  the  land's 
sake,  let  me  stay  home  from  the  evening 
class  boys'  party  and  I  have  told  you  why 
I  want  to  stay  away  from  it. 

Daniel  N. 

P.S.  —  I  forgot  to  tell  you  before    . 
I  signed  my  name  to  this  note  to  you  that 
I  have  party  enough  through  the  day  and 
all  I  want  of  it  too.  j^^^j^j  ^^ 

Daniel  comes  of  a  good  family,  intelligent  and  respected; 
there  is  no  accepted  cause  for  his  condition.  Both  his  father  and 
mother  died  of  apoplexy  or  paralysis,  losing  their  minds  towards 
the  last.  Moreover  the  father's  father  also  died  of  paralysis. 
It  is  interesting  to  note  that  while  there  are  four  normal  boys 
they  were  all  born  before  Daniel  and  after  him  there  were  two 
who  died  in  infancy  of  marasmus. 


320 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


CHART  200 


d- 


o 


PARALYSI 
d.  d.  d.  

fi-r^ 


ALL  UVING 
ALL  HAVE 
HEART  TROUBLE 


}  LEFT  EYE  RICIBLE  •    U       ..pEcuUAR"  J[| 


tLLEOITIMATC 


CASE  200.  OSCAR  M.  i6  years  old.  Mentality  lo.  Has  been  here 
7  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Has  had  measles  and 
whooping-cough. 

Oscar  is  an  ordinary  mischievous  looking  boy.  He  came  here 
from  a  foster  home  at  the  age  of  nine  ;  had  been  in  public  school 
two  years  and  had  had  instruction  in  the  home.  As  usual  with 
children  of  his  grade  he  started  off  well  with  his  first  work 
here ;  was  in  kindergarten ;  read  well ;  did  not  spell  as  well ; 
could  add  combinations  to  ten.  He  began  music,  played  the 
scale  on  the  alto  horn.  Gradually,  however,  he  reached  his  Kmit 
in  the  English  work  and  made  more  progress  in  woodwork  and 
basketry.  He  seems  to  be  a  very  moody  boy,  is  generally  cheer- 
ful and  happy  but  sometimes  the  opposite ;  is  cranky  and  rest- 
less ;  is  quick-tempered ;  seemed  to  have  a  great  deal  of  disturb- 
ance and  almost  apparitions  at  the  beginning  of  puberty.  He 
is  at  present,  however,  a  good  Institution  helper,  but  is  con- 
sidered rather  lazy  and  it  is  said  he  would  rather  talk  than  work. 


NEUROPATHIC   ANCESTRY.     MENTALITY   9 


321 


The  family  history  shows  no  other  case  of  feeble-mindedness, 
but  a  good  deal  of  insanity,  tuberculosis  and  some  eye  trouble, 
also  one  case  of  epilepsy  in  a  paternal  uncle.  The  insanity  seems 
to  be  more  or  less  hereditary  on  both  sides  of  the  family  and  some 
sort  of  eye  trouble  seems  hereditary  through  the  mother's  side 
even  extending  to  a  sister  of  Oscar's.  It  certainly  is  a  case  of 
Neuropathic  Ancestry,  if  nothing  else. 


5h 


CHART 
D 


201 


O 


CASE  201.  BYRON  C.  18  years  old.  Mentality  9.  Has  been  here 
9  years.  American  born,  father  American,  mother  English.  Had  convul- 
sions soon  after  birth ;   has  had  chorea,  measles  and  whooping-cough. 

Byron  was  born  blind  but  an  operation  has  given  him  about 
one-fourth  normal  sight.  He  is  cheerful,  active,  affectionate, 
willing  and  tries,  good-tempered.  His  defective  sight  has  un- 
doubtedly interfered  with  his  school  work  and  had  he  had  nor- 
mal vision  he  would  have 
done  as  much  as  any  of 
our  children  who  have  a 
mentahty  of  nine. 

He  learns  new  occupa- 
tions quickly,  and  is  a 
very  good  Institution 
helper. 

The  case  is  an  interest- 
ing one  from  the  stand- 
point of  causation.  We 
find  no  other  case  of 
feeble-mindedness  in  the  family  altho  there  are  several  persons 
whose  mentahty  is  undetermined. 

The  father  was  a  laborer  in  the  Pottery  Works  and  suffered 
from  lead  poisoning  to  such  an  extent  that  he  had  to  give  up  the 
work.  This  was  shortly  before  Byron  was  born.  Two  other 
children  born  later,  however,  were  normal  altho  the  next 
younger  is  reported  as  being  ^' queer."     The  mother,  also,  had 


(55i3^-r-(S^ 

I  I  RHEUMATISM  "l-  ^ 

L  I  LEAD  INAR 


N)ii(N)[N](N)lilii[N]ii(N) 


*,H0S.8M0S.1 


4H0S.       BYRON   C 


322 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


worked  in  the  Pottery  Works  since  she  was  nine  years  old.  She 
suffered  from  rheumatism  during  the  whole  time  of  her  pregnancy 
with  Byron,  and  most  of  the  time  had  to  be  fed.  Byron  was  a 
blue  baby  and  whether  his  condition  was  due  to  lead  poisoning 
it  is  probably  impossible  to  tell.  If  so,  it  is  quite  as  hkely  to 
have  come  from  the  mother  as  from  the  father.  Therefore  we 
do  not  have  to  consider  a  defect  in  the  father's  germ  cells  which 
has  been  transmitted,  since  the  poison  may  have  influenced  the 
mother's  powers  of  nutrition.  The  condition  would  thus  be  con- 
genital but  not  necessarily  hereditary. 


<N) 


CHART  202 


lNk^(N)(^[Nk^(N)(^J; 


8      FAST  UFV 


laS)       ^[i](N)[t]ii[N].^ii 


k 

DAVID  0. 

CASE  202.  DAVID  O.  30  years  old.  Mentality  8.  Has  been  here 
14  years.  American  born  ;  father  German,  mother  American.  Had  measles 
at  two  years,  pneumonia  at  five ;  has  had  whooping-cough,  scarlet  fever, 
diphtheria  and  had  brain  fever  at  fifteen. 

David  came  here  when  he  was  sixteen  years  old ;  he  was 
small,  as  he  is  yet,  had  rather  a  large  head,  could  partly  dress 
himself,  had  defective  speech,  was  club-footed,  heedless  of  dan- 
ger; had  been  in  pubUc  school  two  months;  could  count  to 
fifty  but  could  not  add. 

He  has  learned  to  read,  and  writes  very  well ;  adds  simple 
numbers ;  is  very  fond  of  writing  and  is  always  happy  when  he 
has  paper  and  a  pencil.  He  has  never  gotten  beyond  adding 
numbers  to  ten  in  his  number  work ;  cannot  do  much  in 
woodwork,   is   a   cottage   errand    boy   and    is    very  good    but 


NEUROPATHIC   ANCESTRY.     MENT.ALITY   8 


323 


slow;  does  general  housework;  is  inclined  to  be  cranky;  is, 
however,  willing,  and  generally  tries  to  do  his  best.  He  is 
quite  excitable,  fond  of  other  children  and  helps  in  the  care  of 
them ;  has  a  sense  of  order  and  cleanliness ;  needs  careful 
supervision. 

The  father  of  David  is  a  normal  man,  but  syphiHtic.  This 
has  undoubtedly  shown  itself  in  the  deaths  in  infancy  and  the 
miscarriages ;  one  son,  however,  is  normal.  Whether  we  could 
say  that  syphiHs  is  the  cause  of  David's  mental  defect  is  doubt- 
ful. David's  mother  is  a  very  nervous  woman.  Unfortunately, 
we  have  been  unable  to  learn  anything  about  her  parents.  She 
has  two  sisters  and  a  brother  who  are  normal  and  this  much 
looks  as  tho  it  were  mentally  a  normal  family,  though  probably 
neuropathic. 

^  CHART    203 

StSr 

D 


n)(n)(n)(n)  \n\  \h\ 


CASE  203.  DENNIS  Q.  23  years  old.  Mentality  8.  Has  been  here 
7  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Condition  said  to  be  con- 
genital. Child  had  measles  at  one  year,  whooping-cough  at  five,  diphtheria 
at  six,  scarlet  fever  at  nine. 


324  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

Dennis  is  a  rather  good-looking  boy,  somewhat  small  in  stat- 
ure, but  not  abnormally  so.  Is  a  fair  worker  altho  somewhat 
moody,  is  excitable,  sensitive  and  quick-tempered.  He  can 
milk,  and  he  helps  the  gardener;    helps  about  the  bam. 

A  glance  at  the  chart  seems  to  indicate  that  this  is  not  a  case 
of  hereditary  feeble-mindedness.  If  the  cause  assigned  by  the 
physicians  as  stated  below,  is  not  accepted,  at  least  we  have 
nothing  else  to  give. 

Dennis  is  the  last  of  five  children.  Two  died  in  infancy, 
the  rest  were  feeble-minded.  There  is  no  apparent  cause  for 
this  except  that  given  by  the  experts  in  this  case  (including  not 
only  the  family  physician,  but  the  experts  in  hospitals),  which  is, 
that  it  is  a  case  of  syphihtic  poison  latent  thru  three  generations 
and  becoming  active  in  the  fourth.  This  is  a  particularly  tragic 
story.  From  great  respectability,  position,  intelHgence,  the 
family  has  fallen  into  poverty  and  distress.  The  children, 
Dennis  in  particular,  seem  to  have  been  born  inteUigent,  but 
to  have  deteriorated.  The  physician  assures  us  that  there  is  no 
trace  of  syphiHs  until  we  get  back  to  the  early  generations.  The 
father  is  recorded  now  as  being  alcohohc.  But  this  did  not 
come  on  until  after  the  children  were  born,  so  that  cannot  be 
considered  as  a  cause. 

CASE  204.  WALTER  T.  30  years  old.  Mentality  8.  Has  been  here 
19  years.  American  born;  father  German,  mother  American.  Instru- 
mental delivery.  Had  convulsions  from  one  to  three  years ;  has  had  measles, 
whooping-cough,  scarlet  fever,  and  cerebro-spinal  meningitis  at  the  age  of 
six. 

When  he  came,  he  was  a  pyromaniac  and  had  started  several 
fires.  This  impulse  was  turned  to  account  by  Superintendent 
Johnstone,  who  set  him  to  work  in  the  boiler  house.  Here  he 
finds  vent  for  his  mania  in  a  harmless  and  useful  way.  He 
enjoys  the  fire ;  seems  to  personify  it.  Shoveling  in  coal  is  to 
him  feeding  his  beloved.  He  sometimes  gives  it  part  of  his  own 
dinner.     He  has  never  set  any  fires  since  he  came  here. 


CASE   203,    DENNIS    Q.,    AGE   23. 
CASE   204,    WALTER   T.,    AGE    30. 


MENTALLY    8. 
MENTALLY   8. 


Itop) 
(centre) 


NEUROPATHIC   ANCESTRY.     MENTALITY   7 


325 


lid. 

SOHEOF  THESE 
HAD  CHILDREN 
WHO  ARE  LIVING 
IN  GERMANY 


5^1-r-(N)t](J) 


BRIGHTS   CANCER 


(5h-r4)  o-r^^^ 


Walter    is    a  c"a«t  204 

pleasant,  good- 
natured,  agree- 
able fellow,  a 
good  worker 
about  the  In- 
stitution. 

The  family 
history  would 
indicate  that 
the  Neuropathic 
Ancestry  ac- 
counts for  the  condition.  The  meningitis  is  ruled  out  because 
the  defect  existed  prior  to  the  attack. 


Jki^\k   qXn)    (Smk 


[n]  i  (n) 


CHART  205 


t>T^ 


D-rO 


D 


TOffiHI 


<5%t:2  '^^omx^p^ 


■(N)Ah[|](N) 

.  6U  16  CHILDREN 


>EUCATE  SAIjnY  B.     ^ 

i|  BABY 


CASE  205.  SAMMY  D.  13  years  old.  Mentality  7.  Has  been  here 
5  years.  American  born,  of  xA.merican  parents.  Had  whooping-cough  at 
five ;  measles  at  six ;  has  had  paralysis.     Condition  is  said  to  be  congenital. 

Sammy  came  here  at  the  age  of  eight;  had  been  in  public 
school  two  years ;  knew  his  letters  and  could  count  to  twelve ; 
could  do  an  errand.     Two  years  later  he  could  count  to  twelve 


326  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

and  could  write  figures  to  nine;  could  read  about  twenty-five 
words  and  easy  sentences ;  could  write  his  own  name.  Learned 
a  little  in  basketry,  but  has  probably  reached  his  limit  in  the 
three  R's ;  will  doubtless  improve  in  industrial  work. 

The  family  chart  does  not  show  any  other  feeble-mindedness, 
but  a  good  deal  of  disease  which  would  warrant  us  in  calhng  this 
case  one  of  Neuropathic  Ancestry ;  for  example,  the  father  was 
very  nervous  and  stuttered ;  his  father  had  Saint  Vitus'  dance. 
Sammy's  grandmother  on  the  father's  side  died  of  paralysis; 
the  maternal  grandfather  died  of  Bright's  disease  and  had  had 
a  stroke  of  paralysis ;  his  father  was  insane. 

CASE  206.  PAUL  D.  19  years  old.  Mentality  7,  Has  been  here  7 
years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Has  had  measles  and  whoop- 
ing-cough.    Supposed  cause,  "  heredity  and  abuse." 

Paul  is  rather   an   agreeable  high  grade  imbecile,   cheerful, 

usually  obedient,  but  somewhat  incUned  to  be  stubborn  ;  has  had 

the  usual  school  experience  which  characterizes  children  of  this 

type.     He  made  some  show  of  reading  and 

1—1         /-jv    writing,  at  first,  but  soon   fell   out ;   did  a 

'   ^-^    Httle  more  with    the    simple   manual   arts, 

such   as   basketry,   and    then   after   a   time 


Sm^ 


1^'        ^  /tk  A.    finally  ended  up  by  doing  housework  or  the 

h£\    ^  ^  ^    roughest  kind   of  outside  work.     Paul,  be- 
sides   doing    housework,    works    with    the 
mason.     He  is  a  very  strong,  fairly  healthy 
boy  and  quite  a  fair  worker  in  his  fine. 
^Jf^^  If   there  is  any  hereditary  defect  it  has 

not  shown  as  feeble-mindedness  but  rather 

in  what  Tredgold  calls  ''morbid  heredity,"  but  which  we  have 

called  neuropathic  ancestry. 
The  father  himself  is  a  puzzHng  case  until  we  remember  that 

he  is  an  epileptic,  then  we  can  probably  account  for  what  we  find. 

We  can  hardly  doubt  that  he  is  a  normal  man  so  far  as  intelli- 


NEUROPATHIC    ANCESTRY.     MENTALITY    7  32? 

gence  is  concerned,  when  we  know  that  he  worked  as  a  lineman, 
was  an  expert  tree  trimmer,  had  served  as  a  dog-catcher  and  was 
considered  very  normal,  but  on  the  other  hand,  he  was  shiftless 
and  could  never  hold  a  place  long,  even  tho  he  was  an  expert 
workman.  He  has  also  served  a  term  in  State's  Prison.  He 
was  alcoholic  and  could  not  endure  success,  quarreled  with  his 
wife  and  she  had  him  arrested  for  assault  and  battery. 

As  Healey  has  shown,  these  vagaries  are  often  produced  by 
epilepsy  in  an  otherwise  normal  man.  This  epilepsy  was  cer- 
tainly not  transmitted  to  any  of  his  children  and  it  is  unfortunate 
that  we  cannot  trace  his  ancestors  farther  back  to  discover  if 
possible  the  origin  of  his  pecuUarity.  We  have  nothing  except 
the  statement  in  the  admission  blank  that  "an  uncle  and  two 
cousins  are  insane." 

CHART  207 

s.  — * 


Chr®  Qt"® 


ALL  PASS      FPU  WORWAl. 


*.3        ^  3  j  DROWNED.    I 


8AUJEE. 

k 

CASE  207.  SALLIE  E.  27  years  old.  Mentality  7.  Has  been  here 
14  years.     American  born,  of  unknown  parentage. 

It  has  been  impossible  to  obtain  any  history  of  SalUe's  hfe 
previous  to  her  entrance  into  the  Training  School.  She  is  a 
quiet,  sweet-faced  girl  with  a  demure  and  unobtrusive  manner  and 
a  habitual  reserve  which  would  make  her  pass  for  normal  until 
one  had  some  experience  with  her. 

She  came  to  the  school  when  she  was  thirteen  years  old,  was 
nervous  in  movement,  could  not  read,  was  fond  of  music ;  could 
do  a  little  housework,  was  noisy  and  indolent. 


32  8  FEEBLE -MINDEDXESS 

She  was  placed  in  the  kindergarten  and  began  to  improve; 
this  did  not  last  long,  however,  and  she  seemed  to  lose  interest 
in  her  work,  was  disobedient,  \villful,  laughed  without  cause, 
seemed  unable  to  control  herseh ;  it  was  recorded  that  she 
showed  signs  of  insanity.  Nine  months  later,  she  is  reported 
as  greatly  improved,  was  learning  dressmaking,  always  happy 
and  cheerful.  In  the  course  of  a  year,  she  learned  to  write  a 
little  and  read  a  few  sentences ;  worked  slowly  but  earnestly 
in  woodwork,  improved  in  sewing,  but  could  not  learn  to  use 
the  machine.  At  one  time  she  was  recorded  as  a  most  satisfac- 
tory girl  in  her  cottage  in  doing  housework,  obedient  and  in- 
dustrious. About  three  years  ago,  however,  she  began  to  fail 
and  since  then  can  do  only  a  little  dusting. 

One  can  perhaps  see  the  explanation  of  all  this  in  the  fact 
that  the  mother  was  insane.  She  belonged  to  a  rather  low 
grade  family  and  was  always  weak,  and  it  may  be  that  the 
insanity  began,  at  least,  as  feeble-mindedness.  The  father 
was  an  immoral  man  as  w^as  his  father  before  him,  but  they 
are  supposed  to  have  been  intelHgent.  There  is  not  enough 
here  to  warrant  our  calHng  it  a  hereditary  case  tho  it  is  surely  a 
neuropathic  family. 


CASE  208.  BESSIE  G.  45  years  old.  Mentality  7.  Has  been  here 
22  years.  American  born,  of  German  parents.  Has  had  measles;  scarlet 
fever  at  the  age  of  ten.  Supposed  cause  of  condition,  "  scarlet  fever."  She 
was  a  strong  baby  nursed  by  her  mother.  Had  first  convulsions  when  ten 
years  old.     Her  mother  had  convulsions  after  the  third  month  of  pregnancy. 

Bessie  came  here  at  the  age  of  twenty-four,  ha\dng  previously 
been  in  the  Industrial  Home  for  Girls  and  later  in  an  Institution 
for  the  Feeble-minded.  She  was  too  old  to  do  much  in  school  and 
became  a  cottage  helper.  She  is  very  wilHng  and  good-natured  ; 
has  very  poor  eye-sight  and  congenital  cataracts. 

This  is  another  family  in  which  it  is  not  possible  to  draw  any 
conclusion  as  to  the  hereditary  character  of  the  condition.     The 


CASE  207,  SALLIE  E.,  AGE  27.  MENTALLY  7. 
CASE  208,  BESSIE  G.,  AGE  45.  MENTALLY  7. 
CASE   217,   HUGH   I.,   AGE   25.       MENTALLY   5. 


'iji 


NEUROPATHIC   ANCESTRY.      MENT.ALITY    7 


329 


n-rO 


6      ^H-6 


mother  had  epilepsy,  and  chart  208 

her  mother  died  of  pa- 
ralysis ;  there  seems  to  be 
a  morbid  condition  in  the 
family  but  beyond  that 
nothing  is  to  be  said.  It 
would  seem  that  there 
was  some  taint  of  he- 
reditary cataracts,  as  a 
nephew  of  Bessie  has  the 
same  trouble. 

The  scarlet  fever  does 
not  seem  to  be  the  cause  since  it  occurred  when  Bessie  was  ten, 
while  the  arrest  of  development  came  at  seven.     The  neuro- 
pathic ancestry  is  more  probable. 


11  (§W5'53^ 

""^  /       V^  BESSIE  C. 


[5® 

lOWNED  ^"^ 


CtURT   209 


CASE  209.     HENRY  Q.     24  years  old.     Mentality  7.     Has  been  here 
ears.     American  born,  of  American  parents.     Has  had  spasms  and  in- 
fantile paralysis ;   had  pneumonia  at  the  age  of  six. 

Henry  is  a  high  grade  imbecile  with  paralysis  of  the  right  arm. 
He  has  never  been  trained  in  ordinary  school  work ;  has  improved 
n  .ch  since  he  came  here,  thru  physical  training;  can  use  the 

hoe  in  garden  work,  is  a 
good  bowler ;  is  considered 
cranky,  slow  but  good- 
tempered  and  willing, 
cheerful  and  obedient ; 
makes  beds  and  runs 
errands  ;  works  in  the 
laundry  and  is  happy. 

There  is  a  probability 
that  this  is  a  case  of  he- 
reditary feeble-minded- 
ness,  and  yet  it  has  been 


8W®SWS)     11 


330  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

impossible  to  verify  this ;  partly  because  the  alcoholism  of  the 
father  and  grandfather  renders  their  mental  condition  uncertain. 
The  family  is  generally  of  low  grade  with  a  lack  of  moraHty.  It 
seems  likely  that  the  oldest  and  the  youngest  sisters  of  Henry 
are  also  mentally  defective.  The  three  other  children  are  so  far 
away,  it  has  been  difficult  to  get  any  accurate  information  in 
regard  to  them.  Several  of  the  family  have  been  supported 
by  pubHc  charities  and  altogether  they  are  undesirable  citizens. 


D 


T 


•-N  CHART   210  j — I 


<5d 


\?6^q^^^h-r^^^6^^ 


aSi 


k 

EMARC. 

CASE  210.  EDGAR  C.  13  years  old.  Mentality  6.  Had  been  here 
7  years.  Had  defective  speech,  commenced  to  walk  at  four  years  of  age ; 
had  weak  knees ;   commenced  to  talk  at  four  years. 

Edgar  never  developed  very  far,  had  a  great  deal  of  sickness, 
and  finally  died  about  two  years  ago. 

No  sufficiently  accurate  data  have  been  obtainable  in  this  case 
to  give  us  any  certainty  as  to  cause.  A  younger  brother  is  dis- 
tinctly normal,  a  paternal  aunt  was  insane. 

It  is  probably  a  neuropathic  family. 

CASE  211.  XAVIER  D.  11  years  old.  Mentality  6.  Has  been  here 
6  years.  American  born,  of  American  parentage.  Birth  was  very  difficult, 
labor  lasted  12  hours,  instruments  and  anaesthetics  were  used.  Child 
weighed  eight  pounds.  At  four  years  of  age  he  had  whooping-cough ;  at 
three  years,  chicken-pox.     His  defect  was  noticed  about  the  age  of  five. 

He  is  a  school  child,  but  does  only  kindergarten  work.  Some 
of  this  he  can  do  pretty  well ;  is  rather  small  for  his  age  and 


NEUROPATHIC   ANCESTRY.     MENTALITY  6  331 

does  not  speak  plainly.  He  has  made  practically  no  improvement 
in  the  last  three  or  four  years,  cannot  get  beyond  the  kinder- 
garten work. 

In  the  cottage  he  is  helpful ;  Ukes  to  take  care  of  other  children 
less  bright  than  he  is.  Is  an  active,  cheerful  little  fellow,  restless, 
and  very  affectionate,  mischievous,  sometimes  destructive ;   not 


CHART  211 


D 


■® 


D-rO    Q-r® 


tFAM 

I^©V)i-T-(N)(N)[^[J©   J. 

j  ^  i.  VOUNC 


k 

XAVIERD. 

always  obedient.  He  apparently  has  reached  his  Hmit,  altho  he 
may  improve  sHghtly. 

There  is  no  evidence  that  this  is  a  case  of  hereditary  feeble- 
mindedness. 

The  mother  of  Xavier  is  entirely  normal  and  seems  to  be  of  a 
good  family.  On  the  father's  side,  there  is  deafness  in  two  gener- 
ations, tuberculosis,  alcohoHsm  and  paralysis. 

CASE  212.  FORD  D.  16  years  old.  Mentality  6.  Has  been  here  8 
years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  pneumonia  at  six 
months,  whooping-cough  at  five  years.     Condition  is  said  to  be  congenital. 

Ford  is  a  nice-looking  boy,  really  of  more  intelHgence  than 
he  makes  use  of.  Altho  he  shows  a  grade  of  six  he  has  never 
been  able  to  be  trained  to  do  anything  of  any  value.  He  is  very 
little  help  about  the  cottage. 


332 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


He  was  born  at  seven  and  a  half  month's  term,  but  was  a  strong 
baby.  He  has  remarkable  powers  of  imitation  and  it  is  prob- 
ably thru  this  that  he  has  acquired  most  of  what  he  has.  He  is 
very   affectionate   and  usually  cheerful;  does  not   talk  much; 


CHART  212 


(J)  6  (J)  dD  [Nl-jH 


<So 


NEUROTIC    d.22 

SCARLET 
FEVEK 


I^(^i.i(i) 


k 


all  things  considered  he  is  a  very  difficult  child  to  understand. 
It  is  equally  difficult  to  account  for  his  condition.  The  family 
history  shows  nothing  that  can  be  assigned  as  a  reasonable  cause 
except  the  neuropathic  condition. 


CHART    213 


n-r-® 


D 


<5). 


[tl[^[t](N)(N)[i][^-T-(N)(N)[Nl(N)t! 

<l-33  ^^        ^7  DROPSY  d.  a. 


•    (N)|NHi|  [N]Ct)(N)(N)    i(N) 


CASE  213.  HOWARD  G.  25  years  old.  Mentality  6.  Has  been  here 
13  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Instruments  used  at  birth. 
Had  measles  at  the  age  of  four. 


NEUROPATHIC    ANCESTRY.     MENTALITY    7  333 

Howard  was  twelve  years  old  when  he  came  to  the  Institution ; 
had  been  in  public  school  two  years  with  no  results ;  Hked  to  make 
things ;  did  not  accomphsh  much  under  training.  It  is  recorded 
that  he  could  learn  words  and  sentences  and  then,  if  left  for  a  day 
or  two,  forgot  them  entirely.  He  is  a  good  worker  about  the 
cottage.     He  is  pleasant  and  agreeable ;  plays  the  cornet  a  little. 

There  is  nothing  in  the  family  history  to  indicate  hereditary 
feeble-mindedness.  The  mother  had  dropsy  at  the  time  of  the 
child's  birth,  but  she  had  four  normal  children  later,  and  had 
two  earlier,  also  two  miscarriages.  The  father  was  alcoholic.  Our 
boy  was  born  under  difhculties,  instruments  were  used  and  it 
is  said  that  liquid  oozed  from  the  child's  head  for  some  little 
time  after  it  was  born.  There  is  a  small  scar  on  the  back  of  the 
head. 

This  is  a  difficult  case  to  account  for.  The  instrumental 
delivery  might  be  considered,  but  neither  the  family  nor  the 
physician  regarded  it  as  the  cause.  We  have  finally  classified 
it  as  a  case  of  neuropathic  ancestry. 

CHART    214 

-O  H— r-® 

V^  <  47YRS.  ^"^ 


6ih 


[N][i'i][N]lN](N)[3V(N)[N](N)(3li(i)(N)(N)(N) 


[n1[n]|n1(n)    sSsSbI  [n1[n][nI 

ISADOR  I. 

k 

CASE  214.  ISADORE  I.  19  years  old.  Mentality  about  7.  Has  been 
here  7  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  whooping-cough 
at  the  age  of  two  and  measles  at  four ;  has  had  abscesses  of  the  ears. 

Isadore  is  another  one  of  those  cases  chat  impresses  the  ob- 
server, the  teacher  or  employer,  as  one  who  ought  to  make  good. 
He  looks  fairly  intelligent,  is  normal  physically  and  always  gives 


334  FEEBLE-j\nNDEDNESS 

one  the  idea  that  ''he  could  if  he  would"  ;  as  a  matter  of  fact  he 
clearly  cannot.  He  has  never  done  anything  worth  noting  in 
school,  altho  much  effort  has  been  bestowed  upon  him,  nor  has 
he  done  any  more  in  the  manual  training.  The  coarser  kind  of 
industrial  work,  however,  he  can  do  fairly  well.  He  hkes  gar- 
dening, is  fairly  trustworthy  when  he  is  quite  sure  of  what  he  is 
to  do.  He  is  neat  and  careful  with  his  clothes ;  lacks  energy  or 
interest  in  things  ;  will  spend  a  long  time  doing  nothing.  He  is 
silent  and  attentive,  very  forgetful,  very  slow,  not  truthful, 
generally  obedient. 

The  family  chart  is  difficult  of  interpretation.  Older  brothers 
of  Isadore  are  normal.  The  mother  and  all  her  family  are  normal 
with  the  exception  of  one  brother  who  is  "not  bright."  The 
father  is  immoral,  somewhat  addicted  to  alcohol  but  not  to  ex- 
cess. He  is  brutal  and  deserted  his  wife.  There  is  a  possibihty 
that  the  defect  is  in  the  blood  but  hes  dormant  and  this  being  a 
good  family  socially  they  have  generally  married  people  who  were 
free  from  any  taint  and  consequently  it  has  not  appeared. 

The  immorahty  of  the  father  may  have  contributed  something 
to  bring  out  the  defect  in  this  boy.  But  this  does  not  seem,  in  the 
present  state  of  our  knowledge,  Hke  a  very  probable  explanation. 
Some  would  accept  the  assigned  cause  of  otitis  media  as  adequate  ; 
but  with  the  other  conditions  as  we  find  them  it  seems  more  than 
doubtful  if  this  is  a  logical  conclusion. 

The  family  is  clearly  neuropathic. 

CASE  215.  WILFRED  T.  17  years  old.  Mentality  6.  Has  been  here 
4  years.  Born  in  Germany,  of  German  parents.  Had  spasms  at  two  years, 
measles  at  eight  years,  has  had  spinal  meningitis.  Supposed  cause,  "  weak- 
ened condition  of  the  mother  and  the  insanity  of  the  father." 

Wilfred  came  here  when  he  was  thirteen  years  old ;  he  under- 
stood a  command  and  was  obedient ;  could  count  to  ten ;  knew 
color  and  form ;  could  not  write  but  could  draw  some ;  after  ad- 
mission seemed  to  improve  a  Httle  at  first,  but  that  has  not  con- 


NEUROPATHIC    ANCESTRY.     MENTALITY    5  335 


tinued.     Did  a  little  in  basketry  for  a  while ;   learned  to  write 
from  copy ;   is  now  errand  boy  and  does  very  well. 

The  family  chart  shows  clearly  the  effect  of  the  syphilis  of  the 
father  causing  early  deaths 


CHART    215 


D 


O 


D 


O 


□  3V(^6n66 


ALL  UVE  IN  GERHANY 


and  miscarriages.  One  older 
sister  is  considered  normal, 
altho  even  this  is  doubtful. 

Wilfred  has  had  spinal 
meningitis  but  this  did  not 
occur  until  he  was  ten  years 
old.  He  had  epileptic 
spasms  every  twenty  or 
twenty-two  days  and  they 
lasted  for  three  days.     The  whole  attack  lasted  for  two  years. 

The  paternal  grandmother  died  of  softening  of  the  brain ;  was 
hysterical  and  paralyzed  for  two  years  before  death;  the  ma- 
ternal grandmother  also  died  of  a  stroke  of  apoplexy,  and  we 
may  safely  call  this  a  case  of  neuropathic  ancestry. 


leptic       (^\^\^^   I     i     i    |S(^ 


D 


CHART  "216 


O 


O 


4  aT  ^^  DELIRIUM  ^— '  TWINS         ^^  *■ »'      ^^  ^"^  6  HO 


[Nl(t)I^(N)lN][N](N)[N]    1    (+)(A) 

i 


CASE  216.  KENT  E.  i8  years  old.  Mentality  5.  Has  been  here  4 
years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  measles  at  the  age  of  one 
year,  and  whooping-cough  at  the  age  of  ten.  Condition  supposed  to  be  due 
to  measles. 

Kent  is  a  good-natured,  happy  boy,  with  a  cast  in  his  eye; 
has  shown  very  little  improvement,  could  not  be  led  to  do  any- 


336 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


thing  in  school  work  or  in  manual  training ;  has  become  a  good 
errand  boy,  will  help  clean  and  do  coarse  work  of  that  kind. 

We  have  not  found  any  feeble-mindedness  in  his  family,  but 
more  or  less  of  physical  disturbances. 

In  the  mother's  family,  several  died  young.  The  father  was 
alcohoHc  and  subject  to  dehrium  tremens.  Unfortunately  we 
know  nothing  of  the  father's  parents. 

Kent  is  also  said  to  have  been  struck  by  a  sledge  at  the  age 
of  five  and  a  half,  and  kicked  by  a  horse  at  eight  years,  at  which 
time  three  stitches  had  to  be  taken  in  his  temple. 

CASE  217.  HUGH  I.  25  years  old.  Mentality  5.  Has  been  here  18 
years.    He  did  not  walk  until  three  years  old ;  began  to  talk  a  little  at  four. 

Apparently  he  became  deaf  about  this  time  and  has  never 
learned  to  do  very  much ;  speaks  a  few  words  when  angry : 
has  learned  to  count  to  twelve  and  write  one  or  two  sentences 

from  memory;   is 


CHART    217 


6~a~^ 


tr^m^. 


n 


mr 


N 


w 


quite  useful  in 
housework ;  can 
sew  and  weave ; 
is  cheerful,  active, 
willing,  truthful, 
good-tempered. 

Hugh  was  a 
sickly  babe  and 
there  was  con- 
siderable sickness  in  his  family,  but  nothing  that  we  can  point 
to  as  surely  feeble-mindedness ;  the  mother  died  of  abscess  of 
the  stomach,  the  father  of  paralysis  affecting  his  heart. 

This  seems  to  be  a  low  grade  family  and  perhaps  Hugh  is  a 
case  of  neuropathic  ancestry. 


\hb     6b 


YOUNG  CHILDREN 


CASE  218.  WILLIE  T.  18  years  old.  Mentality  5.  Has  been  here 
3  years.  American  born;  father  Porto  Rican,  mother  American.  Had 
measles  at  8  years ;  has  had  chorea.     Condition  is  said  to  be  congenital. 


NEUROPATHIC    ANCESTRY.      MENTALITY    5  337 

Willie  is  much  under  size,  he  has  a  very  pecuharly  shaped 
face  ;  has  defective  speech  ;  has  facial  tics.  Altho  his  mentahty 
would  indicate  that  he  ought  to  make  some  progress,  it  seems 
that  he  does  not.     He  can  dress  and  undress  himself ;   obeys  a 

CHART     218 


Q-rO 


[5$lh-p<&1^3SM& 


666[^JT-<feti(y)(N)(N) 

NERVOUS  i  *•  T  I 


H*  M  [I 


k 

command,  can  print  letters  and  can  count  a  Httle ;  can  do  an 
errand;  is  fond  of  music;  altogether  not  very  trainable  nor 
promising. 

The  family  chart  shows  no  mental  defectives  among  the  an- 
cestors of  Wilhe.  The  family  physician  asserts  that  Willie  was 
injured  in  utero  when  the  mother  was  six  months  pregnant ;  she 
strained  herself  in  trying  to  rescue  someone  from  falHng. 

The  paralysis  and  nervousness,  however,  would  suggest  a 
neuropathic  family. 

CASE  219.     FAY  B.     17  years  old.     Mentality  3.     Has  been  here  7 

years.  American  born,  of  Italian  parents.  Assigned  cause  is  "  syphilis." 
Child  had  measles  at  the  age  of  three,  whooping-cough  at  five ;  exanthemata 
at  six,  causing  sore  eyes  and  loss  of  equilibrium ;  has  had  catarrhal  con- 
junctivitis. 

This  is  a  case  of  Friedreich's  ataxia ;  child  was  born  healthy 
and  strong,  grew  normally  until  seven  years  of  age.  Went  to 
school  and  learned  to  read  ;   at  seven  began  gradually  to  lose  the 


[5"b-rO 


p  IM— r--(N)(N>-THN 


(§WWS"ST5^ 


338  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

ability  to  walk;  she  progressively  lost  her  power  to  walk  or 
stand,  to  use  her  legs,  to  hold  herself  up  in  a  chair  or  to  feed  her- 
self, and  gradually  lost  her  mind.  Since  coming  to  The  Training 
School,  Fay  has  been  helpless  practically  all  the  time ;  she  can- 
not feed  herself,  sits  in  a  wheel  chair  or  hes  in  bed.     Is  fond  of 

music,  is  very  small  and  thin 

CHART   219  ,11  r 

but  has  a  pleasant,  pretty  face  ; 
has  continued  to  deteriorate 
mentally.  There  seems  to  be 
no  mental  defect  in  the  family 
altho  we  have  not  been  able 
to  get  very  far  because  they  are 
Italians  and  not  able  to  speak 
Enghsh  and  there  are  not  many 
L  of   them   in    this    country.     A 

younger  sister  of  Fay's  has  the 
same  difhculty  while  a  still  younger  brother  and  sister  are  pos- 
sibly showing  symptoms  of  the  same  type  of  attack. 

Friedreich's  ataxia  is  a  family  disease,  hence  we  have  classed 
this  as  neuropathic  ancestry. 

It  is  a  question  in  the  mind  of  the  writer  whether  a  case  of 
this  kind  should  be  considered  feeble-minded  in  the  usual  sense 
of  that  term. 


CASE  220.  NORA  L.  22  years  old.  Mentality  3.  Has  been  here  17 
years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  convulsions  at  17 
months,  whooping-cough  at  15  months,  has  had  eczema  and  catarrh. 

Nora  is  a  low  grade  imbecile,  excitable,  and  but  very  sKghtly 
trainable.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that,  two  years  after  admis- 
sion, it  is  reported  that  she  had  made  remarkable  improvement, 
was  doing  well  in  kindergarten ;  this  was  apparently  an  imag- 
inary result,  perhaps  due  to  change  of  environment,  for  she  never 
got  beyond  that  pomt  and  to-day  cannot  even  do  kindergarten 
work. 


NEUROPATHIC    ANCESTRY.     MENTALITY    3 


339 


She  is  destructive,  screams  and  tears  clothes ;  she  will  some- 
times do  a  few  httle  things  about  the  cottage. 

There  is  no  proof,  in  this  case,  that  there  is  any  hereditary 
feeble-mindedness ;  tho  there  is  a  great  deal  of  physical  trouble 
of  one  kind  or  another.     The  mentahty  is  perhaps  average. 

'      CHART  220 


a 


CANCER       I  APOPLETY 


8    Ik   h-H§        0~5M5a 


06     £miM>6bSh 

"•  NORA  L,  BLUE    g  MOS.  • 

1  BABY    CmiB 

The  mother  was  overworked  and  worried  previous  to  the  birth 
of  Nora.  Whether  there  was  a  sufficient  disturbance  to  be  the 
reasonable  cause  of  the  condition  cannot  be  determined.  The 
neuropathic  ancestry  seems  more  likely  to  be  the  fundamental 
cause,  with  the  mother's  condition  accessory. 


CASE  221.  HARVEY  L.  27  years  old.  Mentality  3.  Has  been  here 
II  years.  American  born,  of  German  parents.  Has  had  measles,  whoop- 
ing-cough and  chicken-pox. 

Harvey  is  probably  a  case  of  mental  defect  compHcated  by 
mental  disease.  He  is  insane  at  times,  but  at  other  times  is 
quiet,  obedient,  cheerful,  very  forgetful ;  does  not  do  very  much 
work  and  needs  careful  supervision.  He  is  a  tall,  well-built 
boy,  rather  good-looking. 

The  family  history  shows,  without  doubt,  a  morbid  condition 


340 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


CHART  221 


I  MELAN- 


altho  it  can  hardly  be  said  to  be  hereditary  feeble-mindedness. 

A  younger  brother  is  indeed  feeble-minded,  but  he  is  also  epileptic, 

and  his  mental 
I — I  TvJ  weakness  may 
be  a  result  of 
the  epilepsy. 
The  father  and 
mother  and  their 
sibs  are  all  nor- 

I I    mal  so  far  as  is 

known.  The 
father,  however, 
had  locomotor- 
ataxia  and,  what 
"^'^''  there  may  have 

been  in  the  grandparents,  we  have  been  unable  to  determine. 

An  aunt  of  the  mother  died  at  forty,  of  melancholia. 


[n][n][n][n][3[n]--pH^(n)(n) 

*-       LOCOHOTOR 


f 


N 


N 


k 


CHART   222 


O-r-O 


D-rO 


M  I  A 


^TO 


(N)!N][Nl[N]lNl(N)(N)[l][il 


7  MORE 
CinU)REN 


nELAN 
CHOUA 
AT  21 


ONVUL-      d.  11        d.  40  \JV  VJV  ^^1  CONVUL^^ 

IONS      ACCIDENT  ^^-^  V.^  glONS       ^ 


® 


m 


CASE  222.  THEODORA  Q.  34  years  old.  Mentality  3.  Has  been 
here  20  years.     Began  to  walk  at  the  age  of  two,  had  a  fall  at  the  same  age. 

She  was  just  beginning  to  talk,  upon  admission  at  the  age  of 
fourteen,  later  improved  somewhat  in  speech  and  learned  to 
count  to  twenty. 


CASE   219,    FAY   B.,    AGE    17.  MENTALLY    3. 

CASE   222,   THEODORA    Q.,    AGE    34.     MENTALLY    3. 
CASE   226,    NATHALIE    E.,    AGE    30.        MENTALLY   2. 


NEUROPATHIC    ANCESTRY.     MENT.'U.ITY    3 


341 


She  is  a  quiet  inoffensive  woman,  assists  with  the  dormitory 
work  and  takes  care  of  the  more  helpless  children ;  is  quiet, 
obedient,  good-tempered. 

There  is  nothing  to  account  for  Theodora's  condition,  except 
the  neuropathic  condition  of  the  mother's  family.  We  have  no 
record  of  how  severe  was  the  fall  and  we  only  know  that  the  father 
had  periodic  drinking  spells.  The  family  came  from  Germany 
and  there  is  no  record  of  them  farther  back. 


CHART   223 


O 


D 


i) 


S  □  h     tl[NH=fH^[N]       [N]|tl6 


<«•    HEHIPLECIA 


|n1  [n](n)  (^(n)[n]  J 


6® 


(N) 


CLARENCE  X. 

CASE  223.  CLARENCE  X.  18  years  old.  Mentality  3.  Has  been 
here  4  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  spasms  at  one 
month,  measles  at  three  years,  whooping-cough  at  three  years;  has  had 
pneumonia.  Assigned  cause,  "  acute  attack  of  indigestion  at  the  age  of  one 
month." 

Clarence  is  a  very  low  grade  boy,  and  so  far,  it  has  not  been 
possible  to  train  him  to  any  great  extent.  He  has  learned  to 
string  beads,  can  separate  black  and  white ;  has  learned  to  dress 
and  undress  himself;  grows  rough  as  he  grows  older;  cannot 
understand  a  command ;  is  silent. 

The  family  history  would  indicate  that  this  is  a  case  of  neuro- 
pathic ancestry.  We  have  discovered  no  other  feeble-minded 
individuals  but  there  is  considerable  physical  trouble.  The 
father  was  a  partial  invahd  from  a  stroke  of  hemiplegia.  Clar- 
ence's older  sister  was  defective  and  died  at  the  age  of  three. 
This  is  a  case  where  the  marriage  of  cousins  was  apparently 


342 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


disastrous;  as  a  matter  of  fact  the  blood  itself  was  bad,  and 
the  bringing  together  of  the  two  strains  from  the  same  family 
doubled  the  potency,  and  brought  out  the  defect. 

CASE  224.  THOMAS  D.  18  years  old.  Mentality  2.  Has  been  here 
7  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  convulsions  in  the 
third  year,  whooping-cough  at  six  years.  Supposed  cause,  "  premature  birth, 
mother  thrown  from  car."  Thomas  was  a  weak,  sickly  baby,  with  much 
emaciation  ;  did  not  begin  to  walk  until  seven  years  old,  began  to  talk  at  six. 

This  is  a  very  low  grade  case,  practically  untrainable.     Nothing 

has  been  discovered  to  adequately 
CHART  224         ^       account    for    Thomas's    condition. 


Q 


O 


o 


6ei-t~<!)  6  6  b 

NERVOUS      [  ■*■ 


(N)  [N]  lai  (N)  (N) 


His  brothers  and  sisters  are  normal ; 
his  parents  probably  the  same,  altho 
the  father  is  said  to  lack  force, 
and  the  mother  is  spoken  of  as  a 
nervous,  hysterical,  not  mentally 
balanced  woman.  The  maternal 
grandfather  died  of  paralysis.  This 
case  must  perhaps  be  classed  as 
due    to   neuropathic  ancestry,  but 


even  for  that,  the  data  are  not  entirely  satisfactory. 


CHART   225 


In1[!][nH-(n)(n)(n)  (5fl-T-<!)(N)6[N][N]6b 

/^'  1  PARALYSIS  |P*"-     I  1 


m      □-T-(N)(i)(N)(N)5(i)  m 


@m\ 


k 


CASE  225.  MOSES  D.  19  years  old.  Mentahty  2.  Has  been  here 
10  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  slight  eczema  when 
a  baby,  had  membranous  croup  at  nine  months. 


NEUROPATHIC    ANCESTRY.     MENTALITY    2 


343 


Moses  is  a  low  grade  child,  helpless  and  un trainable. 

The  family  history  is  interesting  and  instructive.  There 
are  four  cases  of  insanity  in  the  family.  The  mother  is 
normal,  but  the  father  is  sexually  immoral  and  alcohoHc. 
A  second  cousin  is  epileptic.  There  is  some  syphiUs. 
There  is  a  neuropathic  ancestry,  but  not  hereditary  feeble- 
mindedness. 


O 


"HEAD  TROUBLE" 


f[N|[N][N]  [3 


CASE  226.  NATHALIE  E.  30  years  old.  Mentality  2.  Has  been  here 
2  years.  American  born,  father  German,  mother  American.  Had  whoop- 
ing-cough at  eleven  years ;  has  had  spasms.  Condition  is  said  to  be  con- 
genital. 

NathaHe  is  very  low  grade,  has  some  twitching  of  the  face, 
swings  her  arms  a  great  deal ;  talks  by  signs  mostly ;  does  no 
work ;  is  untrainable  and  un- 
improvable. She  cannot  even 
wash  and  dress  herself. 

Nathahe's  family  history  is 
unsatisfactory.  She  was  an  il- 
legitimate child,  the  mother 
being  normal  and  having  nor- 
mal brothers.  The  rest  of  the 
family  are  in  the  Old  Country 
and  Httle  is  known  of  them. 
The  mother  says  that  the  father 

of  this  child  was  a  friend  of  her  father's.  On  the  other  hand, 
it  is  current  in  the  neighborhood  that  her  ow^n  father  was  the 
father  of  the  child.  Nathahe's  mother  was  18  years  old  when 
Nathalie  was  born ;  later  she  married  a  normal  man  and  had 
four  normal  children. 

Nothing  has  been  learned  that  would  certainly  account  for 
Nathalie's  condition.  The  maternal  grandmother  died  at  72 
having  suffered  for  nearly  thirty  years  with  a  "head  trouble." 
What  this  meant  could  not  be  learned. 


[n](n)[n][n] 


344 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


CHART   227 


C?&-r<5^  fl?h-<5K) 


CASE  227.  BENNIE  H.  21  years  old.  Mentality  2.  Has  been  here 
10  years.  American  born ;  father  American,  mother  Canadian.  Has  had 
partial  paralysis  of  the  throat  or  palate. 

Bennie  is  a  typical  idiot  of  low  grade,  both  in  appearance  and  in 

ability ;  feeds  himself,  but  everything  else  must  be  done  for  him. 

There  seems  to  be  nothing  that  would  strictly  account  for 

this  boy's  condition.     The  parents  are  normal  altho  of  rather 

low  intelligence  and 
shiftless,  but  still 
able  to  make  a 
precarious  sort  of 
living. 

The  mother's 
maternal  uncle  is 
said  to  have  lost 
his   mind    because 

Accur^mr 

k  of  worry.    It  might 

"'""'''  well    be   called    in 

Tredgold's  terminology  a  *' morbid   heredity"  but  aside   from 
Bennie's,  there  seems  to  be  no  true  mental  defect. 


i.3B 

BRIGHTS 

DISEASE 


[titi(N)[N]— p-(A)6(!)6 


^    [f]lillNl[N](N)(N) 


CHART    228 


D-T—® 


Q-r-® 


N 


N 


N)^— '  i=i 


rStt^^^S^^ 


PROSTRATION 


ALL    MARRIED 
DESCENDAMTS  NORNAI, 


m     (n)(n)[n]  h^ 


CASE  228.     IRA  M.     18  years  old.     MentaHty  2.     Has  been  here  10 
years.     American  born,  of  American  parents.     Has  never  been  sick. 

Ira  is  one  of  those  unfortunate  cases  with  an  almost  complete 
lack  of  mind  and  a  very  high  degree  of  nervous  instability.     He 


NEUROPATHIC    ANCESTRY.     MENTALITY    2 


345 


is  very  excitable,  sometimes  even  violent.     He  is  perfectly  help- 
less and  untrainable. 

The  mother's  family  seems  to  be  normal,  tho  her  father  had 
paralysis.     On  the  father's  side,  there  are  four  cases  of  insanity. 

CASE  229.  HARRY  Q.  38  years  old.  Mentality  2.  Has  been  here 
25  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Has  had  measles,  whoop- 
ing-cough, convulsions  and  paralysis  at  the  age  of  five,  cholera  infantum  at 
thirteen  months,  and  marasmus.     Condition  is  said  to  be  congenital. 

Harry  is  a  very  low  grade  boy  with  all  the  characteristics  of 
the  idiot,  except  that  he  has  been  trained  a  little  more  than  is 
usual  with  the  idiot. 

He  seldom  speaks,  and  can  do  very  Httle.  At  home  it  was 
claimed  he  could  ''split  a  Kttle  kindhng  wood,  nail  boards  a 
little,     bring     wood 

,  .        n       TT  CHART   229  

and  water.       Here,      nr~iA  JZ~^ 

he    is   able   to   help    □  Q-T"®  Q- 1 — O  O 

himself  a  little,  but 
is  cranky,  has 
*'wild"  spells  and  is 
unclean. 

The  family  his- 
tory puts  this  case 
at  once  into  the 
group  of  neuropathic 
ancestry  rather  than  feeble-minded  heredity.  The  mother  was 
insane  and  bhnd;  the  maternal  grandfather  died  of  paralysis 
and  the  father  and  paternal  grandfather  were  alcohohc.  Appar- 
ently the  alcohohsm  is  not  so  significant  as  the  paralysis  and 
insanity  on  the  mother's  side. 


PARALYSIS 
RELATED  TO 
CASE  70 


(N)[Nl[^W-JJ)(t)(t)[N](feltl(N) 

4N         4'n  fy  ft  IN 


U  2N         U  3N  3N  s'n 


CASE  230.  ISADORE  T.  12  years  old.  Mentahty  2.  Has  been  here 
5  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  whooping-cough  at  the 
age  of  three  months;  has  had  spasms  and  pneumonia.  The  whooping- 
cough  is  the  assigned  cause. 


346 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


Isadore  is  a  low  grade  boy,  altho  in  some  ways  quite  at- 
tractive. He  soils  and  wets  clothing  both  day  and  night ;  can- 
not do  anything  in  school ;  is  restless,  affectionate,  very  excitable 
and  sensitive ;  cannot  dress  nor  undress  himself ;  tries  to  do  some 
work  but  accomplishes  nothing. 

Isadore  is  one  of  those  delusive  cases  which,  for  some  reason, 
always  excite  hope  and  the  expectation  of  better  things,  but  which 
never  improve;  perhaps  this  is  due  to  the  fact  that  he  comes 
from  a  good  family  and  has  inherited  some  of  those  qualities 
that  make  the  child  more  or  less  pleasing  in  spite  of  his  defect. 

CHART    230 


n-r-(N) 


So  far  as  discovered,  there  is  no  sign  of  feeble-mindedness  in  the 
family,  and  the  persons  seen  are  surely  normal  and  intelligent 
people.  Isadore  has  had  several  experiences  which  may  be 
taken  into  account.  The  birth  was  difficult ;  a  servant  fell  with 
the  child  when  he  was  a  baby ;  and  migraine  seerns  to  have  been 
hereditary  in  the  father's  family.  He  suffered  with  sick  head- 
aches about  once  a  month ;  his  father  suffered  from  them  all  his 
life  and  a  sister  of  the  father  had  the  same  difficulty,  the  spells 
coming  on  suddenly  and  almost  like  fits.  On  the  mother's  side 
the  only  thing  especially  noticeable  is  that  the  father  died  of 
apoplexy.     Clearly  a"  case  of  neuropathic  ancestry. 


CASE  231.     QUIGG  T.     27  years  old.     Mentality  2.     Has  been  here 
17  years.     American  born,  of  American  parents.     Had  whooping-cough, 


CASE   229,    HARRY    Q.,    AGE   38.  MENTALLY   2.      (top) 

CASE   232.    GODFREY   T.,   AGE   18.      MENTALLY   2.      (centre) 


NEUROPATHIC    ANCESTRY.     MENTALITY    2 


347 


eczema,  cholera  infantum.     Condition  said  to  be  congenital.     Cause  given  is, 
'*  maternal  impressions  or  lack  of  vital  material  in  mother  at  the  time." 

Quigg  does  not  talk,  sleeps  quietly,  cannot  play,  does  not  work  ; 
is  cheerful,  clean  in  the  day  time,  affectionate,  sensitive,  rather 
destructive,  easily  managed. 

There  is  no  other  feeble-mindedness  discoverable  in  this 
family.  Indeed  most  of  the  people  have  proved  to  be  distinctly 
normal.  There  is,  however,  rather  an  unusual  amount  of  phys- 
ical   defect.     The    paternal    grandmother    died    of    ''creeping 


CHART    231 


■®6i\ 


^ 


<N) 


^(N)|N](^|t]^^[NH— (N)[NJ[i][^|£](N)(N) 

""^^  APOPIXXY  / 


[n][n](n)(n)[n]    (5SWSW3~S 

I  i-    DELICATE 

I  quicc  T. 

paralysis,"  a  sister  of  hers  had  melancholia.  The  maternal 
grandfather  died  of  paraplegia,  the  mother  had  arteriosclerosis, 
the  father  had  rheumatism  and  catarrh,  while  the  children  of 
this  pair  were  either  non-viable  or  not  strong.  We  cannot 
classify  it  as  a  case  of  hereditary  feeble-mindedness,  it  is  clearly 
one  of  neuropathic  ancestry.     Wassermann  reaction  is  positive. 

CASE  232.  GODFREY  T.  18  years  old.  Mentality  2.  Has  been  here 
7  years. 

This  is  a  low  grade  case  and  practically  untrainable.  Some- 
times he  can  undress  himself  but  has  never  been  able  to  dress. 
He  seems  to  understand  a  command  and  does  some  httle 
errands  about  the  house;    he  cannot  talk — only  chatters. 


348 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


The  family  history  is  too  deficient  to  give  us  anything  con- 
clusive.    A  younger  brother  has  a  speech  defect  but  the  parents 


CHAPT   232 


D 


o 


□-T-0 


KILLED  ON  R.  R. 


[Nh7-(N)[J]h(N)b6d 


SPEECH  *yi*S 

^  DETECT 


seem  to  be  normal.  The  maternal  grandmother  died  from  paraly- 
sis at  sixty-two,  which  puts  the  case  into  a  group  of  many  similar 
ones  where  nothing  is  discovered  other  than  some  form  of  nerv- 
ous trouble  like  paralysis. 


CHART  233 


o 


(N>7-[5 


O-tO 


5 


/  "QUpif 

CANCEl  I r     ERRATIC    T  I         ■■"  "7" 


®®®  EI 


k 


CASE  233.  BESSIE  X.  15  years  old.  Mentality  2.  Has  been  here 
8  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  a  fall  at  the  age  of 
three ;  had  whooping-cough  at  one  year ;  paralysis  at  three ;  mumps  and 
chicken-pox  at  two.     Condition  is  said  to  be  congenital. 


NEUROPATHIC    ANCESTRY.     MENTALITY    i 


349 


Bessie  is  a  low  grade  child  and  entirely  helpless.  The  family 
history  in  this  case  is  an  unusually  difficult  one  to  understand ; 
there  seems  to  be  no  hereditary  feeble-mindedness,  but  the  epi- 
lepsy is  probably  hereditary  and  there  is  also  some  insanity. 
If  we  attempt  to  account  for  Bessie's  condition,  we  conclude 
that  it  is  a  summing  up  of  various  morbid  tendencies,  which 
have  appeared  at  various  times,  in  several  generations.  That 
there  is  some  hereditary  taint  in  this  family,  there  can  hardly  be 
a  doubt.  Bessie  has  a  cousin  who  is  epileptic,  and  a  number  of 
more  distant  relatives,  who  are  insane  or  epileptic.  Others  have 
been  pronounced  ''queer  and  pecuhar." 


CHART  234 


D 


<? 


<N) 


TUMOR        I  I  I  I  I  IKLANCHOUA  I  I 

...,~,,.™..  II  8  8  3       SENILE  'N  4« 


OTHER  BIRTHS  I 

ORDER  NOT  KNOWN  7  4N  A«  1 


1^ 


I 

ISAAC  L. 

CASE  234.  ISAAC  L.  i6  years  old.  Mentality  i.  Has  been  here  lo 
years.  American  born;  father  and  mother  German.  Had  scarlet  fever  at 
the  age  of  two  years  ;   has  had  chorea.     Condition  is  said  to  be  congenital. 

Isaac  is  a  microcephahc  idiot.  He  is  unintelligent  and  un- 
trainable ;  does  not  talk ;  walks  totteringly,  goes  up  and  down 
stairs  ''one-sided." 

This  is  an  interesting  case  in  that  a  younger  brother,  the  only 
other  child  of  the  parents,  is  also  microcephalic  and  fully  as  low 
grade  as  Isaac. 

Whether  one  is  to  look  for  heredity  in  this  family  is  very  hard 


350 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


to  say.  There  is  more  or  less  physical  trouble  and  some  mental, 
but  how  it  could  account  for  such  low  grade  conditions  and  es- 
pecially the  microcephaly,  it  is  impossible  to  decide. 

We  have  not  found  any  other  mental  defectives  among  those 
that  we  have  traced.  The  maternal  grandfather  was  alcohoHc 
and  insane,  had  acute  melancholia  and  finally  senile  dementia. 
Our  boy's  mother  and  her  sister  had  migraine,  but  nothing  here 
would  usually  be  considered  sufficient  to  account  for  the  condi- 
tion of  Isaac  and  his  brother. 

Isaac  gives  a  positive  Wassermann  reaction. 


CHART    235 


N 


^ 


(n)(n)[n][n]In][n]  \n\(n)\n\  [n]— r-(N)Q[j (^(n) 


(§S^^§SS^^®i 


DCFORHE 

m 


ABORTION        DORIS  T 


I 


CASE  235.  DORIS  T.  12  years  old.  Mentality  i.  Has  been  here 
10  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  whooping-cough  at 
the  age  of  two  years ;  had  spasms.  Instruments  were  used  at  birth.  Con- 
dition is  said  to  be  congenital. 

There  seems  to  be  no  feeble-mindedness  in  this  family.  An 
older  sister  is  normal.  There  was  a  miscarriage,  earHer,  which 
was  brought  on  by  the  mother  herself.  The  father  and  his 
family  are  all  normal.  The  mother  died  eight  months  after 
Doris's  birth,  following  operation  for  carcinoma  of  the  intestines. 
She  had  two  brothers  insane,  one  was  also  alcoholic.  Our  child 
has  always  been  very  dehcate.  It  was  a  forced  birth  and  in- 
struments were  used.  She  has  many  petit  mal  attacks.  She 
is  perfectly  helpless,  has  to  be  fed,  makes  no  improvement. 


ACCIDENTS    BEFORE    BIRTH.     MENTALITY    ii        351 
ACCIDENT   GROUP 

The  following  57  cases,  Nos.  236 — 292,  compose  the  Accident 
Group.  We  have  included  here  cases  in  which  accident,  in- 
cluding disease,  is  either  the  only  assignable  cause  or  at  least 
furnishes  the  most  plausible  theory. 


CHART  236 


CASE  236.  GERTIE  C.  23  years  old.  Mentality  11.  Has  been  here 
17  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Has  had  convulsions, 
peripheral  paralysis  at  one  time,  chorea  and  locomotor  ataxia  or  spinal 
sclerosis. 

When  admitted  at  the  age  of  six,  it  was  recorded :  "She  looks 
like  a  pretty  child  of  three.  Walks  totteringly,  cannot  dress 
herself,  but  partially  washes  herself.  Understands  command, 
speaks  slowly  and  hesitatingly,  is  clean  and  has  good  habits." 
After  admission  she  improved  marvelously.  Memory  and  at- 
tention were  excellent;  she  learned  to  sew  well  in  the  kinder- 
garten and  help  with  the  low  grade  children ;  could  make  beds 
as  well  as  anyone. 

Although  her  ataxic  condition  affects  her  speech  organs  as  well 
as  her  limbs,  her  persistence  and  relatively  high  grade  mentality 
have  enabled  her  to  get  considerable  control,  so  that  she  even 


352 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


writes  a  letter  and  can  dust  and  sweep  and  dress  the  children. 
She  has  a  remarkable  memory,  adds  rapidly,  and  multipUes 
small  numbers  without  the  use  of  objects.  She  is  an  excellent 
cottage  helper.  She  is  cheerful,  active  and  obedient,  affectionate ; 
is  good-tempered  and  truthful,  thoroly  reliable;  talks  and 
behaves  more  sensibly  than  most  of  our  girls. 

The  story  of  Gertie's  mother  is  particularly  tragic;  it  is  a 
case  of  a  young  woman,  normal  mentally,  getting  into  trouble  in 
her  early  youth  and  suffering  from  the  shame;  too  proud  to 
ask  help  from  any  one,  deserted  by  every  one,  marrying  a  man 
whom  she  did  not  love,  out  of  love  for  her  child,  to  give  her  a 
father  and  a  home,  leaving  home  because  of  the  way  he  abused 
the  helpless  Kttle  thing,  and  carrying  her  burden  always  closely 
hugged  to  her  heart.  Our  Field  Worker  reports  having  spent 
two  hours  with  her  and  says  :  "No  one  could  doubt  the  absolute 
sincerity  of  the  woman,  nor  help  respecting  her  for  the  way  she 
has  faced  the  truth  of  her  act  and  accepted  all  its  consequences." 

A  glance  at  the  chart  shows  us  that  there  is  no  evident  cause 
for  Gertie's  condition ;  accordingly  the  following  study  of  the 
mother  is  of  some  interest  and  perhaps  importance. 

When  Gertie's  mother  discovered  that  she  had  been  betrayed, 
she  went  to  the  mother  of  the  young  man  who  was  the  father  of 
the  child;  this  mother  interested  herself  sufficiently  to  take 
Gertie's  mother  to  the  Almshouse  where  she  left  her.  Here  she 
was  put  to  work  at  exceedingly  hard  labor  which  proved  too  much 
for  her,  so  much  so  that  she  succumbed  and  had  to  be  carried 
out  on  a  stretcher;  when  she  recovered  she  was  put  at  easier 
work  scrubbing  the  floors.  This  continued  until  she  was  taken 
ill  before  her  child  was  born.  At  night  or  whenever  she  was 
free,  she  would  creep  to  some  spot  as  nearly  hidden  as  she  could 
find,  and  sob ;  she  said  she  cried  the  whole  eight  months  thru. 
One  particular  instance  she  remembers.  Shortly  before  she 
was  taken  ill  herself,  there  occurred  in  the  ward  the  delivery  of 
a  woman  who  was  seized  with  horrible  convulsions  which  dis- 


ACCIDENTS    BEFORE    BIRTH.     MENTALITY    9         353 

torted  her  almost  out  of  human  form ;  for  several  hours  she  stayed 
with  this  woman  and  worked  with  her  until  she  finally  died. 
The  mother  avers  that  when  her  child  was  born  it  imitated  the 
convulsive  movements  of  the  woman  whom  she  had  seen  die. 
She  herself,  was  soon  taken  very  ill  and  at  the  time  of  the  birth 
her  temperature  was  105  and  the  baby's  103;  this  condition 
lasted  three  days  and  three  nights.  Perhaps  we  may  find  in 
these  facts  the  cause  of  Gertie's  defect,  at  least  we  know  of 
nothing  else. 


CHART    237 

rm  3rd  COUSIN, 


m 


66ii 


M^ 


m 


O    (N)(N)(N) 


CASE  237.  THEODORE  B.  22  years  old.  Mentality  9.  Has  been 
here  3  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  measles  at  the 
age  of  five  ;  double  pneumonia  when  two  months  old  ;  catarrh  of  the  stomach 
at  the  age  of  nine.  Assigned  cause,  "  premature  birth  and  illness  of  the 
mother." 

Theodore  reads  in  the  Fourth  Reader,  writes  a  good  hand; 
will  obey  a  command  if  it  is  given  practically ;  uses  bad  language. 
He  is  inclined  to  be  sullen  and  stormy ;  one  of  his  worst  habits 
is  that  of  taking  things  that  do  not  belong  to  him,  which  gets 
him  into  much  trouble.  He  has  spent  considerable  time  in 
private  schools  and  generally  is  reported  as  doing  well  for  a  time 
and  then  falling  back.  None  of  his  people  ever  discovered  that 
he  is  mentally  defective. 


2  A 


354 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


The  family  chart  does  not  reveal  any  adequate  cause  for  the 
defect.  The  family  is  clearly  normal  and  there  do  not  seem  to 
be  any  very  serious  diseases  which  might  affect  this  case. 

Theodore  was  an  eight  months  baby ;  it  is  reported  that  he 
was  being  tossed  up  in  the  air  by  his  grandfather  and  struck 
his  head  against  the  chandeKer ;  how  serious  this  was  and  whether 
it  could  have  affected  the  brain  we  have  no  means  of  knowing. 


CHART    238 


N 


<N) 


■<N) 


6[nIInI[nI(^[nI-i-(n)(n)     (n)     (n)     (^     [j 


k       I 

(S®         (n) 

CASE  238.  KRIS  C.  40  years  old.  Mentality  9.  Has  been  here  6 
years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  His  birth  was  difficult. 
He  had  measles  at  the  age  of  two,  whooping-cough  at  three,  also  has  had 
pneumonia  and  has  suffered  from  blood  poisoning. 

Kris  is  a  high  grade  boy  with  a  speech  defect.  It  is  said  he 
knew  his  letters  at  the  age  of  two ;  he  can  read  anything,  count 
indefinitely  and  do  an  errand  and  housework;  makes  no  prac- 
tical use  of  any  knowledge  that  he  has,  but  is  a  fair  worker. 

This  is  a  remarkable  case,  as  every  one  in  the  immediate  family, 
with  the  exception  of  Kris,  is  known  to  be  normal.  Indeed  it  is 
a  highly  respectable  family. 

Kris's  father  was  slightly  alcoholic,  that  is  to  say,  once  or 
twice  a  year  he  lost  control  of  himself  in  this  particular,  but  this 
was  long  after  the  birth  of  Kris. 

The  difficult  birth  may  have  been  the  cause.  The  child's 
head  was  partly  born  for  four  hours. 


ACCIDENTS    BEFORE    BIRTH.      MENTALITY    9         355 


CHART    239 


[g- 


■© 


D 


IHI-T-® 


6® 


(N)  [N]  (N)  |n]  [3  [j--l-(N)  [|]  In]  (n)  [n]  [j  (N) 

T  T         T  T  .""'»'       "^^       '«™« "Si'    *■  E2?S8!iS^ 

li  6  hi       SUPPORT 


(§T 


ABORTIONS 


CASE  239.  PATRICK  X.  17  years  old.  Mentality  9.  Has  been  here 
7  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  whooping-cough, 
chorea,  chicken-pox,  and  appendicitis. 

Patrick  was  a  sickly  baby,  weighing  only  2^  pounds  at  birth. 
He  talks  distinctly,  does  some  work,  does  errands,  is  affectionate, 
cheerful,  fond  of  other  children.  He  is  extremely  nervous;  is 
hemiplegic  and  ataxic  ;  has  deformed  hands  and  feet ;  is  fond  of 
play;  has  been  trained  to  some  manual  work  and  can  write  a 
little ;  is  fond  of  animals ;  can  do  some  basketry  work ;  has  had 
the  usual  experience  with  ''EngKsh";  writes  a  fair  letter,  but 
badly  spelled. 

Pat  is  the  only  mental  defective  in  the  family,  so  far  as  is 
known.  An  older  sister  is  normal  and  married ;  a  younger  one 
died  at  the  age  of  two  years.  The  mother  is  a  normal  woman  but 
somewhat  neurotic.  Her  brothers  and  sisters  were  normal 
except  one  brother  who  was  ''probably  defective"  —  he  was  so 
very  alcoholic  that  it  is  impossible  to  judge  of  his  mentality. 
The  father  of  our  boy  was  alcoholic  and  tuberculous  and  did  not 
support  his  wife.  He  had  a  brother  who  was  tuberculous.  The 
rest  of  his  sibs,  together  with  his  parents,  were  normal.  Our 
boy's  condition  is  attributed  to  medicine  taken  before  he  was 


356 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


born.     There  had  been  three  abortions  produced  by  the  phy- 
sician who  was  "a  friend  of  the  family." 


CHART    240 


(5^1— rO       [fi5SSSl-r(5S3^ 

•RELIGIOUS  ^eiYRS.  ^\  |  j  |       ^^^       \  \ 


KILLED  AT  22  I  «B'Ji^"     I 

••rnnmii  I."  2  OF  THE         3 


iSWi^ 


k 

eiONEYT. 

CASE  240.  SIDNEY  T.  19  years  old.  Mentality  8.  Has  been  here 
7  years.  American  born;  father  Irish,  mother  American.  Assigned  cause 
"  instrumental  delivery."  Child  had  measles  at  the  age  of  two,  and  mumps 
at  the  age  of  twelve. 

Sidney  is  a  moron,  rather  a  nice  looking  boy ;  average  size 
and  well  built.  He  had  convulsions  when  he  was  a  year  old ; 
has  had  none  since.  His  mental  defect  showed  at  about  four 
years  of  age.  He  had  a  fall  at  the  age  of  three  and  began  to  lose 
his  hearing  from  that  time ;  it  is  now  very  poor.  Birth  was  very 
difficult,  labor  was  long  and  hard,  instruments  and  anaesthetics 
were  used.  He  talks  very  much  but  indistinctly.  It  is  quite 
probable  that,  on  account  of  his  deafness,  this  boy  tests  a  Httle 
lower  than  he  actually  is,  his  work  would  indicate  this ;  at  present 
he  works  in  the  dining  room  and  kitchen.  He  has  the  usual  char- 
acteristics of  boys  of  his  type,  is  generally  obedient,  sometimes 
stubborn,  obstinate,  rather  sober,  restless  and  quick-tempered; 
undoubtedly  some  of  these  are  accentuated  by  his  deafness. 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  part  of  one  of  his  letters  which  will 
be  recognized  as  rather  more  characteristic  of  a  nine  year  old 
child  than  an  eight, 


ACCIDENTS    BEFORE    BIRTH.      MENTALITY    8         357 

Vineland  N  J. 
June  15,  1910. 
Dear  Father  &  Mother  &  Brother. 

I  hope  you  are  all  well  at  horn  and  had 
a  good  time. 

I  will  be  gald  when  you  bring  me  home  in  the  28 
of  June  before  the  four  of  July. 
I  want  some  nice  postal  cards  when  I  come  home 
I  want  you  to  give  me  a  big  time. 
I  would  like  to  play  with  Ralph  at  home. 
Mama  I  want  Ralph  to  be  a  good  Boy  when  I  come 
home 

I  want  to  know  how  you  are  all  getting  along. 
I  am  getting  along  Fine  in  the  Cottage. 
I  play  ball  one  Saturday  and  I  had  a  good  time. 
I  want  you  to  bring  me  home  in  the  28  of  June 
before  the  Four  of  July  and  I  will  have  a  good  time 
at  home. 

You  did  not  send  me  no  letter. 
I  want  you  to  write  me  a  letter  and  I  had  a  good 
time  on  June  8th. 

A  view  of  the  family  chart  makes  us  doubt  the  heredity  in 
this  case  and  we  are  incHned  to  accept  the  injury  at  birth  as  the 
cause  of  this  defect.  It  is  true  that  the  mother's  uncle  had  a  son 
who  was  feeble-minded  but  this  is  far  removed,  and  it  is  quite 
possible  his  defect  may  have  been  due  to  his  mother's  family  or 
to  an  accident. 

CASE  241.  FLORA  T.  17  years  old.  Mentality  8.  Has  been  here 
4  years.  American  born,  of  Irish  parents.  Had  varioloid  at  the  age  of 
two,  whooping-cough  at  eight,  measles  at  nine.  Supposed  cause,  "a  serious 
fall  of  the  mother  three  weeks  before  the  child  was  born,"  from  which  she 
was  very  ill. 

Flora  is  a  moron.  She  reads  in  the  Second  Reader,  counts  to 
twenty,  can  write  a  letter,  but  it  is  very  difficult  to  read,  both  on 
account  of  the  handwriting  and  the  spelling,  has  no  idea  of 
punctuation  nor  arrangement  in  sentences.     She  is  affectionate, 


358 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


very  excitable  and  quick-tempered ;  is  thieving.  She  does  good 
housework,  washes  dishes,  makes  beds,  and  is  an  excellent  wait- 
ress;  is  fond  of  play,  is  somewhat  defective  in  speech  and  in 
sight;    is  highly  trainable.     She  has  tubercular  glands. 


CHART   241 


{Bt 


■<N) 


[n](n)(n)  i  (^  <^ (n)  |n1(^  In1(n) 


BROUGHT  rLORAT. 


ON   BY  L. 

OVER-WQRK  ■ 

A  glance  at  the  chart  almost  compels  us  to  accept  the  theory 
of  the  mother's  fall  as  the  cause  of  the  condition.  The  mentahty 
of  all  of  the  family  has  been  determined  and  all  are  normal. 

In  the  absence  of  details  in  regard  to  the  fall  and  the  symptom.s 
of  the  illness  which  resulted,  we  cannot  of  course  make  any  clear 
guess  as  to  the  probabiHty  of  this  being  a  sufficient  cause.  It  is 
reasonably  clear  that  there  is  no  hereditary  defect. 


CHART  242 


IHl- 


<N) 


@- 


N 


<N) 


(N)(^[N]|N][N]lN][g^J-j-(N)[N][N][Nl[Nl[N]i   (n)  [n]  ^ 

•It  m      iJn  *h       in  3N 


(N)|^lN][Nl[Nl[N](N)[N](§""'i    [n] 

NANCY  E.  ®  "*"■ 

k 

CASE  242.     NANCY  E.     18  years  old.     Mentality  7.     Has  been  here 
10  years.     American  born,  of  German  parents.     Had  cephalhematoma. 


CASE   242,   NANCY   E.,   AGE   18.     MENTALLY   7.     ^centre) 


ACCIDENTS    BEFORE    BIRTH.     MENTALITY    7         359 

Nancy  is  a  high  grade  imbecile ;  has  learned  to  do  some  of  the 
simplest  kindergarten  work,  but  nothing  above  this ;  has  learned 
to  sew  a  little,  but  does  mostly  cottage  and  laundry  work ;  talks 
a  great  deal,  can  dress  and  undress  herself ;  makes  beds ;  waxes 
floors ;  is  cheerful  but  quarrelsome  and  stubborn ;  very  excitable ; 
incHned  to  be  thieving ;  fond  of  children,  will  take  care  of  them 
sometimes;  is  easily  managed,  if  understood. 

Nancy  belongs  to  a  thoroly  normal,  respectable  family.  There 
is  nothing  to  account  for  the  condition  unless  one  accepts  the 
mother's  theory.  While  it  sounds  somewhat  like  the  discarded 
theory  of  maternal  impression,  yet  it  is  not  impossible  that  the 
fright  and  shock  which  the  mother  received  may  have  interfered 
with  the  nutrition  of  the  unborn  child  and  resulted  in  the  mental 
defect.     The  story  in  brief  is  as  follows  : 

Shortly  before  this  child  was  born,  the  mother  was  compelled 
to  take  care  of  a  sister-in-law  who  was  in  a  similar  condition  and 
very  ill  with  convulsions.  Our  child's  mother  was  many  times 
frightened  severely  as  her  sister-in-law  was  quite  out  of  her  mind. 
She  says  that  this  child's  ways  often  recall  to  her  the  sister-in- 
law's  actions  at  that  time. 


CASE  243.  WALLACE  N.  14  years  old.  Mentality  7.  Has  been 
here  2  years.  American  born,  father  English,  mother  American.  Had 
rickets  at  birth,  whooping-cough  at  nine  years,  measles  at  ten  years ;  had 
convulsions  when  young.     Condition  is  said  to  be  congenital. 

Wallace  is  an  interesting  little  chap ;  walked  when  a  year  old 
and  talked  when  two  years  old ;  is  very  nervous  and  excitable ; 
is  under  size ;  is  disobedient ;  when  admitted  knew  letters,  but 
could  not  read ;  could  count  to  a  hundred,  could  write  his  name ; 
memorized  easily.  He  does  fairly  well  in  basketry,  but  he  has 
about  reached  his  Kmit  intellectually. 

The  family  are  apparently  normal.  An  older  sister  and  a 
younger  brother  are  also  said  to  be  normal  but  have  not  been 
seen.     No  adequate  cause  for  the  condition  has  been  discovered. 


360 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


There  are  two  facts,  to  be  mentioned  only  because  in  such  a 
case  every  detail  is  important.  First,  the  father  is  said  to  be 
much  older  than  the  mother,  and  second,  it  is  reported  that  they 

used   drugs   to   produce  an 


D-r® 


'5^i) 


CHART    243  ,  .  -r  i  i 

abortion.  it  used  to  be 
considered  that  the  age  of 
parents,  at  the  time  of  the 
birth  of  a  defective  child, 
had  some  effect  in  a  causal 
way,  but  this  has  not  been 
borne  out  by  the  facts. 
Possibly  the  drugs  used 
might  affect  the  nutrition 
*'^""'^  of   the  foetus  but  it  is  im- 

possible to  say  positively  that  this  is  so.  At  least  it  seems 
altogether  improbable  that  there  is  any  hereditary  taint  in 
this  case. 


CASE  244.  MATTHEW  W.  30  years  old.  Mentality  4.  Has  been 
here  17  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  measles  at  the 
age  of  five,  and  whooping-cough  at  the  age  of  seven.  Cause  of  the  condition, 
"  instrumental  delivery." 

Matthew  is  a  low  grade  boy,  quite  untrainable,  and  there  are 


some  symptons  of  in- 
sanity. 

Matthew  is  an  only 
child.  The  father  died 
at  52,  of  pneumonia, 
the  mother  and  her 
family  are  normal. 
The  maternal  grand- 
father died  of  acute 
indigestion  at  86,  the 
grandmother  died  at  90 


CHART  244 


D 


o 


n-p(N)[Nl    (A)    ^     [i]       (N) 


66^ 

iU    9N08.     *.* 


ACCIDENTS    BEFORE    BIRTH.     MENTALITY    3         361 


of  stomach  trouble.  No  hereditary  taint  is  traceable  in  this 
family,  and  the  condition  is  supposed  to  be  due  to  difficult  birth, 
instruments  were  used  and  there  was  partial  strangulation. 


CHART  245 


D-T-® 


m-r-® 


|Nl-r-(N) 


i  (3(^  t^  [^  [Nl-r-(§  6  i  (^  [N]  (N) 

I  I  NERVOUS  *■ 


(N)(N)(N)li[ti(^iN][5(N)  m  ®m 

•  »<W-         HANNAH  D         NERVOUS  X^ 

k 


CASE  245.  HANNAH  D.  29  years  old.  Mentality  3.  Has  been  here 
18  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Has  had  measles,  whoop- 
ing-cough, hysteria,  cerebro-spinal  meningitis,  cholera  infantum  and  chorea. 
Assigned  cause,  "  congenital,  and  morbid  disease  of  spinal  cord  and  brain." 

Hannah  is  a  low  grade  child,  very  nervous  and  excitable,  talks 
httle,  takes  httle  interest  in  things,  can  group  colors  and  string 
beads,  but  with  Httle  interest. 

There  is  no  evidence  of  any  other  feeble-mindedness  in  the 
family  and  the  condition  is  apparently  due  to  the  condition  of 
the  mother  during  pregnancy.  She  was  very  frail  and  ill  during 
the  latter  part  of  the  period. 

Hannah  was  born  with  hair  long  over  the  shoulders.  She 
did  not  walk  until  she  was  four  years  old. 

CASE  246.  GUSSIE  Q.  16  years  old.  Mentality  3.  Has  been  here 
5  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  measles  at  three  years ; 
there  is  absence  of  the  thyroid  gland ;  is  therefore  a  cretin,  tho  the  symptoms 
are  by  no  means  typical. 


362 


[N^ 


<N) 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

CHART   246 

lEl— r-@° 


651l-T-^f^    (^^K^N](N>>^(A)[i] 


iS*^  (§11         (N)  (N) 

GUSSIE  q.  2 

k 

Gussie  is  an  interesting  little  fellow,  much  under  size,  as 
would  be  expected  from  the  fact  that  he  is  a  cretin.  He  is 
apparently  a   deaf   mute;    has   made   some  little  progress  in 


ACCIDENTS    BEFORE    BIRTH.      CRETIN  363 


364 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


kindergarten,  is  particularly  adept  at  free  hand  cutting;  can 
also  tear  out  the  figures,  as  can  be  seen  from  the  accompanying 
reproductions.  He  is  learning  to  talk  a  Httle  and  has  learned  to 
make  a  bed. 

The  family  history  is  thoroly  good  and  the  members  are  in- 
telligent with  no  mental  defect  am^ong  them.  The  father  died 
of  apoplexy  after  a  pecuUar  illness ;  one  physician  considers  it 
a  case  or  form  of  general  paralysis  due  to  a  latent  rather  than  an 
acquired  condition.  Unfortunately  the  history  farther  back  is 
too  imperfect  to  confirm  this. 


CHART   247 


N 


^ 


(SH— [n]  (n)  (fe  (n)  (n)  (n)  [n]     D— r-(^^ 

I  I  POTTER 

IN  2k 


[1^  (n)  (n)  [n]  [n]  [n]  [n]  |nI[nJ       [nUn)  (n)  [}]  ^^ 


iT    FRJED( 

k 


CASE  247.  FRED  C.  24  years  old.  Mentality  2.  Has  been  here  16 
years.  American  born;  father  American,  mother  Scotch.  Has  had  chorea 
and  diphtheria. 

Fred  was  a  sickly  babe,  weighed  only  three  pounds  at  birth. 
He  is  low  grade  and  untrainable.  He  can  carry  a  tune,  however, 
and  sings  to  himself  most  of  the  time.  This  is  another  one  of 
the  unsettled  cases,  where  the  mother's  family  is  entirely  good 
and  normal,  but,  unfortunately,  of  the  father's  family  we  know 
practically  nothing  except  that  he  was  alcoholic ;  his  whereabouts 
are  entirely  unknown. 

The  mother's  explanation  of  the  condition  is,  that  during  the 
third  month  of  pregnancy,  she  attended  a  sick  child  who  finally 


ACCIDENTS    BEFORE    BIRTH.     MENTALITY    i         365 

died  in  a  convulsion.  Soon  after  Fred  was  born  the  mother 
noticed  contortions  similar  to  those  of  the  child  that  died. 

Fred's  father  was  a  potter  and  lead  poisoning  has  been  sug- 
gested. But  there  is  no  evidence  that  lead  poisoning  in  the 
father  could  affect  the  offspring. 

A  Wassermann  test  on  Fred  gave  a  positive  reaction. 


CHART    248 


m 


<N) 


N 


<N) 


JOO«i)E^(N)(N)ES 


15)(n)E[n|[n 


^(n)(n)  ^\k\  [n](n)(n) 


k 

UZZIEI. 

CASE  248.  LIZZIE  I.  24  years  old.  Mentality  2.  Has  been  here  17 
years.  American  born,  of  Irish  parents.  Had  whooping-cough  at  four, 
malaria  and  grippe  at  five,  spasms  at  twenty  years. 

Lizzie  is  low  grade  and  untrainable.  This  is  a  case  possibly 
due  to  shock  to  the  mother.  There  is  clearly  no  hereditary 
taint.  It  is  a  thoroly  respectable  and  intelligent  family.  The 
father  and  mother  are  both  normal,  as  are  all  the  relatives. 
The  mother  is  a  very  highly  nervous  woman  and  about  nine 
weeks  before  her  child  was  born,  there  came  four  deaths  in  her 
family  in  quick  succession.  Some  of  these  were  announced  by 
telegram  and  produced  a  great  shock  upon  the  mother.  No 
other  cause  for  the  condition  of  this  child  is  known. 
Lizzie  gave  a  positive  Wassermann  reaction. 


CASE  249.  HOWARD  H.  27  years  old.  Mentality  i.  Has  been  here 
20  years.  Had  measles  and  whooping-cough  when  a  year  old.  American 
born,  of  American  parents.  Supposed  cause,  "  hemorrhage  of  the  mother 
at  the  birth  of  the  child." 


366  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

Howard  is  a  low  grade  case,  entirely  untrainable;  is  said  to 
have  had  inflammation  of  the  limgs  when  a  baby,  and  convulsions 
occasionally.  Sometimes  has  insane  spells  in  which  he  cries 
and  jumps  about ;  breaks  things. 

There  is  no  evidence  of  hereditary  feeble-mindedness  in  this 
family,  altho  there  is  also  no  proof   that  it  is  not  there.     In 

CHART  24^ 


m-T-o  o-r-o 

d-eO  ^^  <L70  i 


i^5aS^i-r-(§S^SSS5SWii3^ 


[n][n][n]  o^ 


the  absence  of  such  proof  we  may  accept  the  mother's  condition 
at  the  time  of  the  birth,  as  the  probable  cause.  She  was  very  ill 
and  even  her  life  was  despaired  of,  and  the  baby  was  neglected 
in  order  to  save  the  mother ;  afterward  it  was  discovered  that  the 
child  was  alive  and  then  efforts  were  made  to  resuscitate  it. 
Altho  never  bright  he  has  been  of  somewhat  higher  intelUgence 
than  he  now  manifests. 

CASE  250.  FLORENCE  D.  31  years  old.  Mentality  6.  Has  been 
here  18  years.  American  born,  of  Irish  parents.  Had  measles  at  the  age  of 
six,  and  whooping-cough  the  same  year;  had  bowel  trouble.  Condition 
is  said  to  be  congenital. 

Florence  is  of  the  MongoHan  type  but  of  rather  higher  men- 
taHty  than  usual.  Is  good  natured,  takes  care  of  herself.  Does 
practically  nothing  in  the  three  R's,  did  learn  the  alphabet  and 
learned  to  spell  a  half  dozen  words,  but  has  become  a  good 
Institution  worker,  sews  nicely,  helps  in  the  kitchen  and 
dormitory.     Since  she  has  been  made  a  helper  and  care-taker 


CASE   248,    LIZZIE    I.,    AGE   24.  MENTALLY   2. 

CASE   250,    FLORENCE    D.,    AGE    31.     MENTALLY   6. 
CASE   258,    PAUL    S.,    AGE    16.  MENTALLY   4. 


MONGOLIAN    TYPE.     MENTALITY    5 


367 


CHART  250 

A  _T 


1Q. 


if  lower  grade  children,  she  has  be- 
come  most   valuable    and    gives   no  [~]- 
t  rouble. 

The  family  history  is  too  meager 
to  be  of  any  special  value,  except 
that  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  a 
younger  brother  is  married  and  has 
two  children,  one  of  whom  is  re- 
ported to  be  "  just  like  Florence." 
Whether  that  means  she  belongs  to 

the  Mongohan  type  we  do  not  know,  she  hves  in   the  west 
with  a  relative. 


k 

)ltENCE  D.  1 

iNGouAN  r    n 


CHART    251 


D 


O 


d^ 


Q 


^™^b-K&3555 


VJ/    Vi^    VJ'  """^  >— ^     ^—^     ^^  BABY  BYRS. 


IRENE  N. 
nONCOUAN 


CASE  251.  IRENE  N.  16  years  old.  Mentality  5.  Has  been  here  4 
years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  whooping-cough  at  the 
age  of  seven,  measles  at  nine ;  had  gastro-enteritis  at  the  age  of  ten  days, 
which  is  supposed  by  the  family  to  be  the  cause  of  her  mental  condition. 

Irene  belongs  to  the  Mongohan  type  and  has  probably  reached 
the  hmit  of  her  mental  development.  She  is  somewhat  train- 
able, can  make  beds,  and  do  a  Httle  table  work,  sews  and  weaves 
a  httle  and  seems  to  be  improving  somewhat.  Can  count  to 
ten  and  knows  colors. 

As  usual  in  the  case  of  Mongohan  children  we  find  no  other 


368 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


defect  in  the  family,  and  we  have  been  able  to  learn  in  this  case 
that  many,  at  least,  were  normal.  The  Mongolian  type  is 
congenital  but  not  hereditary. 


CHART    252 


fc 


^  J— ^  I     \  I     I      I 


■(E) 


m- 

48a  vns. 


<N) 


N 


f^®^ 


<§~*'     [i3l^(N)(N)l^-r-<N)(^ilN](N 

allNF  8'N         »W  7W 

In!  (^  (N)  |n]  [n]  ]^  (n) 

I  MONCOUAK 


N    N 


7W         IN         2N        W 


CASE  252.  IRA  C.  21  years  old.  Mentality  4.  Has  been  here  14 
years.  American  born,  of  American  parentage.  Had  chicken-pox  when 
six  years  old. 

Ira  is  a  typical  imbecile  of  the  MongoHan  type.  He  walked 
at  the  age  of  four  and  a  half,  has  the  bad  eyes  which  usually 
characterize  this  type;  is  fond  of  play,  active,  frank,  truthful, 
walks  with  a  shuffling  gait  which  is  also  characteristic.  This 
type  seldom  does  anything  with  the  three  R's  or  with  industrial 
work  of  any  particular  kind. 

Ira  is  somewhat  helpful  in  the  laundry  and  is  not  bad  to  get 
along  with. 

CASE  253.  THEODORE  E.  18  years  old.  Mentality  4.  Has  been 
here  5  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  scarlet  fever  at 
the  age  of  two. 

While  the  family  is  not  quite  as  clear  of  physical  troubles  as 
usual,  careful  search  reveals  no  trace  of  mental  deficiency.  The 
father's  fraternity  inherits  melanchoha  from  their  father,  in  con- 
junction with  good  business  abiUty  from  the  mother.     The  pater- 


MONGOLIAN    TYPE.     MENTALITY    4 


369 


nal  grandfather's  sister  was  insane  and  she  had  a  grandson  that 
was  markedly  less  bright  than  his  sibs,  but  this  is  quite  far  re- 
moved from  our  child.     Our  boy  is  rather  unusually  pleasant, 


CHART   253 


ff& 


o 


N 


ALL  SHOW  TENDENCY  TO  MELANCHOUA 


^K)-T^^l 


r 


®7HNKw^(N)-jH^[k^ 


9  NOS.     '•^  THEODORE  E 


nONUOLIAN 


with  the  usual  MongoHan  characteristics.  He  is  able  to  do  simple 
errands  very  well,  really  understands  much  more  than  he  at  first 
appears  to. 


D 


CHART   254 


■® 


D 


<N) 


tl[N]6tltl[Nl-p-(N)[i](N)(N)[f][N]^(^ 


^^"^         i.  NORMAN  I 


CASE  254.  NORMAN  G.  19  years  old.  Mentality  4.  Has  been  here 
7  years.  American  born,  Irish  parents.  Had  erysipelas  at  the  age  of  11. 
Adenoids  and  tonsils  have  been  removed. 

When  admitted  Norman  knew  his  letters  by  rote,  but  not  by 
sight.    He  improved  a  httle  in  the  kindergarten  so  that  he  knew 


370 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


the  colors,  but  soon  reached  his  limit  and  has  made  practically  no 
improvement  in  basketry  or  EngHsh,  and  almost  as  little  in  wood- 
work. Cannot  write  at  all,  —  only  scribbles  marks.  Is  a  helper 
in  the  cottage  but  needs  close  watching.  He  is  very  shy,  but 
appears  pleasant;   agreeable   and   affectionate. 

No  other  defectives  are  found  and  the  relatives  are  highly 
respectable  people. 


CHART    255 


(By 


N 


(N)-7--ChHS)         EI    H— r-®  D 


o 


-jJ^S^     lN](N)^[Nly<N)[tl(N)|i(N)(N)--r{Nl(N)[^ 


[n]  (n)  [n] 


CASE  255.  IRA  I.  25  years  old.  Mentality  4.  Has  been  here  14 
years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Has  had  meningitis,  cholera 
infantum  at  the  age  of  four  months,  measles,  whooping-cough,  and  diph- 
theria.    Assigned  cause,  "  cholera  infantum  and  probably  meningitis." 

Ira  was  eleven  years  old  when  admitted,  had  a  dragging  gait, 
could  not  read,  knew  no  numbers  nor  color  nor  form ;  was  fond 
of  music,  was  gluttonous,  was  affectionate,  and  had  defective 
speech.  Under  training,  he  learned  to  know  colors,  except  blue  ; 
learned  to  sew  cards  nicely ;  became  orderly  and  neat  in  school 
but  was  careless  of  his  clothes ;  learned  to  count  to  ten.  Never 
got  much  beyond  this  in  these  Hnes,  but  learned  well  in  industrial 
work.  He  sweeps  and  dusts  and  makes  beds,  washes  and  pohshes 
floors,  is  a  good  worker  about  the  cottage  and  farm. 

Ira  is  very  cheerful,  active  and  obedient,  rather  affectionate, 


MONGOLIAN    TYPE.      MENTALITY    4  371 

is  very  willing,  is  truthful  and  good-tempered.  Is  unusually 
lively  for  a  boy  of  his  type  and  grade. 

Ira  belongs  to  the  Mongolian  type,  which  at  once  settles  the 
cause  of  his  condition  so  far  as  the  reasons  assigned  are  concerned. 
He  may  have  had  cholera  infantum  and  meningitis  but  the 
MongoKan  characteristics  show  that  he  was  defective  before 
these  attacks.  This  makes  the  case  interesting  because  it  warns 
us  that  we  must  be  on  our  guard  against  accepting  in  any  par- 
ticular case  even  what  is  regarded  as  a  real  cause.  If  Ira  were 
not  of  the  MongoKan  type  we  might  conclude  that  the  meningitis 
was  certainly  the  cause  of  his  condition  because  of  its  known  effect 
in  this  direction. 

He  is  quite  different  from  others  of  his  type  and  it  is  quite 
possible  that  the  meningitis  maybe  responsible  for  that  difference, 
altho  the  striking  thing  is  that  the  difference  Hes  largely  in  the 
direction  of  greater  activity,  not,  however,  of  the  intelligence. 

A  glance  at  the  family  chart  shows  another  interesting  thing. 
In  most  cases  we  find  that  the  child  of  the  MongoHan  type  be- 
longs to  a  family  where  there  are  no  other  defectives,  in  fact  we 
have  almost  thought  it  was  a  certificate  of  good  blood;  in  this 
case,  however,  we  find  other  defectives,  which  shows  us  that  there 
are  exceptions  to  this  rule.  Ira's  uncle  is  feeble-minded  and  he  has 
a  cousin  feeble-minded,  who  is  also  in  this  Institution.  So  far 
as  the  cousin  is  concerned  his  defect  might  have  come  thru 
the  other  family,  by  marriage.  The  immediate  family  of  Ira 
follow  the  rule,  and  his  four  younger  brothers  are  all  normal  as 
are  also  his  father  and  mother.  • 


CASE  256.  FRED  M.  13  years  old.  Mentality  4.  Has  been  here  2 
years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Condition  is  said  to  be  con- 
genital or  caused  by  measles  at  three.  The  child  also  had  whooping-cough 
at  four  and  pneumonia  at  six. 

Fred  is  rather  small  for  his  age,  talks  little,  but  can  be  under- 
stood, can  dress,  undress,   wash   himself   and   comb   his   hair. 


372 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


Is  cheerful,  inclined  to  be  cranky  and  stubborn;  is  generally 
truthful,  quick-tempered,  mischievous,  rather  lazy,  tho  usually 
obedient.  Can  do  simple  housework;  cannot  read  but  knows 
a  number  of  words  by  sight.     Likes  to  dramatize  short  stories. 


CHART    256 


(§m55£h-<55b     5&T<5^ 


Q  (§  [n]  [n]  (N)  (N)  li 


DELICATE  FRED  M. 


k 

HONCOUAN. 

The  only  thing  worthy  of  note  here,  is  that  a  second  cousin  of 
Fred  is  also  feeble-minded  but  we  know  nothing  of  the  father  of 
this  boy  except  that  he  committed  suicide  at  the  age  of  34. 
It  is  entirely  possible  that  there  may  have  been  hereditary  defect 
in  this  hne  or  that  there  is  some  other  sufficient  cause  for  that 
case  of  defect  without  concluding  that  there  is  anything  in  the 
blood  of  the  common  ancestry. 


CHART    257 


D 


<N) 


D 


D 


1ST  HUSBAND 


o 


iNoHUSBA 


o 


E(N)(N)E][a 


NERVOUS 

tCH. 
DEUCATE 


a  [N]©(N) 


<§~S) 


INSANE 
LATE  IN 
LIFE 


(n)<^[n]     (n) 

^^  FAY  N. 

k 


nONGOLIAN 


CASE  257.  FAY  N.  13  years  old.  Mentality  4.  Has  been  here  6 
years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  erysipelas  at  the  age  of 
six ;    has  double  congenital  cataracts ;    has  inclination  to  croup. 


MONGOLIAN    TYPE.      MENTALITY    4 


373 


The  heredity  is  normal,  no  mental  defect  being  found  any- 
where, altho  there  is  considerable  nervousness.  The  ma- 
ternal grandfather  died  of  apoplexy,  and  the  grandmother  of 
arteriosclerosis.  The  paternal  grandmother  is  reported  very 
nervous  as  are  some  of  the  others  of  this  family.  Fay  is  an  in- 
teresting Httle  girl,  affectionate  and  cheerful,  does  no  work,  is 
easily  managed,  has  quite  a  sense  of  order  and  cleanhness. 

CASE  258.  PAUL  S.  16  years  old.  Mentality  4.  Had  been  here  5 
years.  American  born ;  father  Danish,  mother  Irish.  Had  whooping- 
cough  at  the  age  of  4  years.     Died  of  tuberculosis. 

In  countenance  Paul  was  not  quite  typical,  but  the  other 
characteristics  were  all  present.  He  was  a  cheerful,  good- 
natured  boy,  quiet 


D 


O 


D 


O 


(^|N]tl  tl[Nl-nr-^(N)(N)(N)[Nl 


J     1        1'        .  .  CHART    258 

and  obedient,  sensi- 
tive,  somewhat 
excitable.  Was 
never  able  to  do 
any  school  work 
and  hardly  any 
manual  training  ; 
he  learned  to  work 
about    the    house, 

nONGOUAN. 

making        beds, 

sweeping,  dusting,  etc.     He  talked,  but  indistinctly. 

The  mother  died  of  paralysis  at  43.  The  father  is  said  to  have 
been  subject  to  special  mental  and  bodily  overtaxation  prior  to 
the  conception  of  this  child.  Also  the  mother  was  overworked 
during  pregnancy. 


n  I&W&       (n)|n](n)(n) 

<LI2  PAULS  ^"^  ^^      ^■*' 


<LI2 
•^00  MUCH 
BRAIN  WORK 


CASE  259.  IRA  U.  21  years  old.  Mentality  4.  Has  been  here  11 
years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  pneumonia  at  the  age 
of  three,  and  measles  at  five.  Has  no  palate.  Mother  supposed  to  have 
been  affected  by  a  man  who  had  no  palate. 


374 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


Ira  is  thoroly  typical.  He  does  nothing  significant  in  school 
work  or  in  manual  training.  Can  do  errands,  and  lighter  house- 
work. 

CHART   259 

TnI-t-®  El-r<S) 


(N)M\k      ^TSSS^®SSi  \^mM 


k 


He  comes  from  a  good  family  with  thoroly  good  ancestry. 
There  are  no  defectives  among  them.  A  paternal  aunt  is  said 
to  have  been  insane  with  rehgious  mania. 


CHART   260 


3  4  HUSBAND    e 

® 


|i][N](N)<^  m 

DORA  N. 

k 


CASE  260.  DORA  N.  10  years  of  age.  Mentality  about  3.  Has  been 
here  2  years.  American  born,  German  parents.  Had  chicken-pox  at  the 
age  of  four,  had  measles  and  scarlet  fever  at  six. 

Dora  is  the  last  born  in  a  family  of  four;  commenced  to 
walk  at  two  years,  does  not  talk;  can  dress  herself;  does 
simple  kindergarten  work  and  Httle  errands  in  the  house.  She 
is  rather  an  unusually  low  type  for  a  Mongohan  but  quite 
probably  her  defective  speech  makes  her  appear  a  little  lower 
than  she  is. 


CASE  264,  HENRY  C,  AGE  38.  MENTALLY  7. 
CASE  260,  DORA  N.,  AGE  10.  MENTALLY  3. 
CASE  268,  DOTTIE  I.,  AGE  9.      MENTALLY  5. 


ACCIDENTS    AFTER    BIRTH.     MENTALITY    12        375 


The  family  history  is  perfectly  clear  of  other  feeble-minded 
individuals,  although  there  is  one  epileptic  in  an  asylum  in 
Germany. 


CHART    261 


M- 


O 


m 


N 


*■  <••         i  7  0  i-TO       d.90       ^^       i  70  <»-70       Aeo 


66in1[n][n][n] 


(§11     ^®^[5q5 

*•  '       MINA  C. 


<N) 


CASE  261.  NINA  C.  26  years  old.  Mentality  12.  Has  been  here  13 
years.  Born  in  Japan,  of  American  parentage.  Has  had  convulsions,  had 
chicken-pox  at  the  age  of  14. 

This  is  an  interesting  case,  more  from  the  medical  standpoint 
than  from  that  of  heredity.  The  child  is  supposed  to  have  suf- 
fered from  beri-beri  and  the  mental  condition  is  probably  the 
result  of  this  disease. 

A  glance  at  the  chart  shows  that  there  is  good  evidence 
that  the  family  is  normal,  and  we  may  perhaps  look  for  no  other 
cause  for  the  condition  than  that  mentioned. 

Nina  is,  mentally,  one  of  the  brightest  in  the  Institution. 
She  has  a  pecuHar  ataxic  condition  which  affects  her  speech  as 
well  as  her  movements.  She  writes  very  sensible  and  interest- 
ing stories,  and  has  a  good  memory  for  reproducing  stories. 
She  is  a  good  worker  in  anything,  where  her  physical  condition 


376 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


does  not  interfere  too  much.     Takes  great  interest  in  her  work. 
Helps  in  the  mending  room. 


CHART  262 


N 


n 


[Khz-® 


(N)(N)[N]|N][N][Nl[Np^^^  ^ 


ALL  ARE  HARRIED 
AND  THERE  ARE 
A  NUMBER  OF 
NORMAL  CHILDREN 


iShS) 


N 


HAVE  10  NORMAL  DESCENDANTS 


CASE  262.  IVOR  O.  48  years  old.  Mentality  10.  Has  been  here 
1 1  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Has  had  measles,  whoop- 
ing cough  and  scarlet  fever.     Supposed  cause,  "  a  fall  or  scarlet  fever." 

Ivor  is  a  steady,  gentlemanly  boy,  polite,  does  not  enter  into 
discussion  with  other  boys ;  tries  to  please,  is  willing  to  help. 
Attendants  have  only  good  to  say  of  him.  He  will  argue  when 
told  he  has  done  wrong.  He  is  cheerful,  rather  silent,  obedient 
and  affectionate ;  works  in  the  boiler-house  and  shops ;  is  neat 
and  tidy,  especially  on  Sunday;  an  ideal  boy  so  far  as  dis- 
position goes. 

Ivor  can  read  and  write  rather  exceptionally  well  for  a  boy 
of  his  grade. 

His  family  is  thoroly  normal  and  is  composed  of  high  grade 
intellectual  people.  The  paternal  grandmother,  it  is  true,  died 
of  paralysis  but  we  cannot  as  yet  say  that  this  has  any  signifi- 
cance. It  seems  necessary  to  accept  the  assigned  cause  of  scar- 
let fever,  especially  as  the  high  intellectual  grade  of  the  family 
shows  in  this  boy,  even  tho  the  scarlet  fever,  or  something 
else,  has  interfered  with  his  complete  mental  development. 
He  is  quite  different  in  disposition,  manner,  tendencies  and 
impulses  from  the  great  mass  of  our  cases  of  equal  mental  grade. 


ACCIDENTS    AFTER    BIRTH.      MENT.\LITY    8  377 

Following  is  a  letter  of  Ivor's  which,  while  there  are  some 
errors  in  spelKng  and  capitaKzation,  nevertheless  in  the  whole 
contents  and  the  train  of  his  thought,  and  the  abiUty  to  express 
himself,  is  far  ahead  of  any  letter  that  we  have  found,  from  our 
other  children. 

Vineland,  N.  J. 
March  27th  1911. 
Dear  Mother. 

I  thought  would  write  you  a  letter  to  let  you 
know  that  I  am  well  and  hope  you  and  Jessie  are  the  same. 
I  would  hke  you  to  send  me  a  pair  of  shoes  size  7.     And 
the  April  Cosmopohtan  Magazine.     Their  was  a  Party  at 
the  Bridgman  Cottage  this  month  and  the  boys  enjoyed  it 
very  much     I  said  a  recitation  called  Soldier's  Rest  and 
they  had  Cornet  Solos  and  also  some  refreshments.     On 
Friday  evening  the  24th  of  March  their  will  be  an 
entertainment  at  the  hall  and  it  will  be  given  by  Dr.  Lane. 
They  had  moving  pictures  at  the  hall  this  month  and  they 
were  very  fine  and  they  had  some  band  selections  which 
every  one  enjoyed  very  much.     In  February  their  was  a 
Birthday  party  at  the  hall  and  it  was  very  interesting.     I 
am  working  m  the  Shoe  Shop  in  the  morning  and  do  house 
work  at  the  Bridgman  Cottage.     I  hope  you  and  Bessie 
will  have  a  pleasant  Easter.     On  Sunday  afternoon  of 
last  week  they  had  Assembly  at  the  hall.     This  is  all  I 
have  to  say.     Your  loving  son. 

CASE  263.  ISAAC  N.  27  years  old.  Mentality  8.  Has  been  here  8 
years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  whooping-cough  at 
five  years,  measles  at  seven.  The  whooping-cough  is  supposed  to  be  the 
cause  of  the  condition. 

Isaac  came  here  in  his  twentieth  year.  At  that  time  he  is 
recorded  as  ''obedient,  recognizes  color  and  form,  memory  and 
imitation  fair,  attention  good  ;  capable  of  useful  occupation  such 
as  simple  farm  work ;  trustworthy,  and  truthful ;  has  attended 
school  seven  years,  could  read,  write  and  count.  Enjoys  taking 
part  in  games;    learns  but  httle  in  classes." 


378 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


[S- 


CHART    263 


Q 


(n)[n|    ®(^[^— r-(§  ® 


<N) 


m     M 


[n](n)[^(n)[nI  (n)(n)J^^[n][n1  I^BSlSgilEl 


Three  years  later  he  was  reading  in  the  Third  Reader,  could 
spell  many  words,  write  neatly  but  very  slowly.  The  follow- 
ing letter  was  well  written  but  shows  the  immature  development 
and  imperfect  understanding. 

Vineland,  N.J. 
May  ist,  1910. 
"My  Dear  Mother; 

I  thought  I  would  write  you  a  few  lines  I  am 
well  and  I  hope  you  are  well  as  usual  we  had  moving 
pictures  here  in  the  hall  last  Wednesday  night  we  are 
having  very  nice  weather  now  last  Sun 
day  it  rained  and  we  was  all  ready  to  go  to  the  hall 
and  we  got  word  there  was  not  going  to  be  no  assembly 
and  we  had  undress  and  put  our  clothes  away  will  you 
please  be  out  to  see  me  the  i8th,  of  may  that  will  be 
on  Wednesday  I  received  your  postal  card  all  right  how 
are  all  the  boys  getting  along  all  well  I  will  close  hope 
to  hear  from  you  soon, 

I  am  respectfully 
yours 
Answer  soon."  Isaac. 

The  family  is  thoroly  good  and  respectable.  This  is  an  unac- 
countable case  unless  we  accept  the  paralysis  of  the  grandfather, 
or  the  whooping-cough  which,  the  physician  says,  was  exception- 


ACCIDENTS    AFTER    BIRTH.     MENTALITY    6 


379 


o 


[Nf '§)  [l]  (N) 


ally  severe.  The  parents  and  all  relatives  are  perfectly  normal 
mentally.  There  is  no  history  of  anything  at  the  time  of  birth 
or  subsequently  that  can  account  for  the  condition. 

CASE  264.  HENRY  C.  38  years  old.  Mentality  7.  Has  been  here  20 
years.  American  born,  of  German  parents.  Has  had  spasms,  whooping- 
cough,  scarlet  fever  at  the  age  of  twelve,  typhomalarial  fever  at  twenty. 

Henry  is  a  high  grade  imbecile.     Was  admitted  at  the  age 
of  1 7  ;   it  is  said  that  then  he  could  do  about  first  grade  school 
work ;   had  been  in  pubHc  school  until  the  age  of  14  ;    has  never 
gone    any    further    in 
school  work,  but  has 
become  a  good  Insti- 
tution helper.     He  is 
cheerful,  quiet,  obedi- 
ent,   willing,    truthful 
but    not    always    ob- 
servant   of    property 
rights.     He  is  good  in 
taking  care  of  some  of 
the  helpless  boys. 

Very  little  could  be 
learned      about     this 

family,  consequently  nothing  can  be  determined  as  to  whether 
this  is  an  hereditary  case  or  not.  In  the  absence  of  other  data 
we  have  accepted  the  scarlet  fever  as  the  cause. 

CASE  265.  BALDWIN  H.  45  years  old.  Mentality  6.  Has  been  here 
2  years.  American  born;  father  American,  mother  EngUsh.  Had  spasms 
at  five  years,  whooping-cough  at  four  months,  diphtheria  at  two  years, 
scarlet  fever  at  fifteen  years.  Also  had  infantile  paralysis.  Cause  of  the 
condition  supposed  to  be  "  sickness." 

Baldwin  is  partially  paralyzed  and  cannot  walk,  but  feeds 
himself ;  he  did  not  talk  until  seven  years  old ;  cannot  read ; 
counts  to  twenty;  is  very  happy  at  the  Training  School,  enjoys 


38o 


FEEBLE-iVaNDEDNESS 


the  company  of  the  boys.  Was  necessarily  much  alone  at  home  ; 
likes  to  help  mind  the  httle  ones.  He  is  kind,  affectionate  and 
cheerful. 

Baldwin's  case  is  clearly  due  to  accident.     He  comes  from  an 
excellent  family  as  will  be  seen  from  the  family  chart.     They 


M- 


CHART   265 


m)Cn)(n 


BOTH  D.  YOUNG 


>0[Nk^lN| 


[n]- 


N 


"^ 


<N) 


<N) 


[tllii[NW<N)(N) 


N 


were  not  only  normal  in  the  usual  sense  but  a  highly  respected 
family. 

Baldwin's  condition  is  assumed  to  be  the  result  of  the  rupture 
of  a  blood  vessel  on  the  brain  when  he  was  a  baby  four  months 
old.  It  happened  in  a  paroxysm  of  whooping-cough;  his  eyes 
turned  completely,  showdng  only  the  whites ;  he  bled  from  the 
eyes,  nose,  ears  and  mouth  and  the  clot  settled  on  his  brain  which 
partly  paralyzed  him.  He  was  completely  bhnd  for  a  time  and 
never  walked. 


CASE  266.  CHARLES  T.  28  years  old.  Mentality  6.  Has  been  here 
7  years.  Born  in  Russia,  of  Russian  parents.  Had  measles  at  four  years, 
tj^hoid  fever  at  six.  The  latter  is  supposed  to  be  the  cause  of  his  mental 
defect.     He  came  to  this  country  when  seven  years  old. 

Charles  is  a  typical  good-natured  *'fooUsh"  boy.  He  is  of 
a  cheerful  and  happy  disposition,  is  not  very  high  grade,  is  fond 
of  music,  can  use  tools  a  httle,  can  do  housework ;   is  indolent, 


ACCIDENT   AFTER   BIRTH.     MENTALITY    5 


381 


m-r® 


CHART  288 


Eh-® 


sly  and  profane ;  has  a  fair  memory,  is  active,  quiet,  obedient, 
quick,  sensitive,  affectionate,  truthful,  friendly.  He  is  strong 
and  healthy;  has  not 
changed  in  years. 

Charles'  family 
seems  to  be  thoroly 
normal 
was  indeed 
but  that  is  the  only 
trouble  we  find. 
We  are  practically 
compelled     to    con-  charlest. 

sider     the     typhoid 

fever  as  the  cause  of  his  defect.  This  occurred  at  about  the 
time  he  should  have  begun  his  school  work  and  that  perhaps 
accounts  for  his  never  having  learned  anything  in  that  Hne. 


(g)  B  -'' '-  ©  ®  [n1  ® 


CHART    267 


<N) 


J|  (N)(N)(N)[N][NH-(N)(N)lil[N]  |^j^ 


11  iS^O^SuSS^^  (^SSBeI  (n)  El 

CASE  267.  ISAAC  I.  24  years  old.  Mentality  5.  Has  been  here  13 
years.  iVmerican  born,  of  English  parentage.  Had  measles  at  the  age 
of  four,  whooping-cough  at  five. 

Isaac  is  what  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  would  call  a  "cheerful 
idiot,"  —  except  that  he  is  technically  an  imbecile.  He  is  good 
natured,  full  of  fun  —  his  kind  ;  appreciative,  and  never  so  happy 


382  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

as  when  he  is  going  on  an  errand  or  doing  something  for  some- 
body. He  has  quite  a  curious  speech  defect,  not  easily  under- 
stood, feet  are  very  much  turned  out  and  he  walks  very  badly, 
nevertheless  he  can  get  over  the  ground  quite  rapidly.  He 
never  achieved  anything  in  the  three  R's,  farther  than  to  print 
the  letters  G  and  E.  His  hands  are  very  stiff ;  grasp  is  poor ; 
has  long  since  ceased  to  improve ;   can  partly  dress  himself. 

When  Isaac  was  eleven  months  old  he  had  convulsions,  the 
doctor  said,  due  to  a  whipping.  He  was  very  ill  and  was  never 
right  afterwards.  He  had  seven  convulsions  in  all,  the  last  one 
when  he  was  three  years  old.  Altho  this  is  a  very  unsatisfac- 
tory cause  for  the  condition,  we  know  of  no  other.  The  fact 
that  a  cousin  is  also  feeble-minded  does  not  justify  us  in  conclud- 
ing that  there  is  a  hereditary  taint,  since  it  is  a  much  easier  solu- 
tion to  conclude  that  in  this  case  his  condition  was  also  due  to 
accident. 

The  rest  of  the  family  so  far  as  it  is  possible  to  trace  them  are 
normal,  altho  not  by  any  means  briUiant.  They  have  had  a 
great  deal  of  sickness,  the  father  having  died  of  cancer  of  the 
stomach. 


CASE  268.  DOTTIE  I.  ("  Billikens  ").  9  years  old.  Mentality  5.  Has 
been  here  4  years.  American  born,  of  Irish  parentage.  Has  had  whooping- 
cough.  Drunkenness  of  the  parents  is  the  assigned  cause  of  the  condition. 
Billikens'  case  has  already  been  described,  see  The  Training  School  Bulletin 
for  November,  191 2. 

This  is  a  child  of  drunken  parents,  and  she  herself  was  fed  on 
whiskey,  which  may  have  been  the  cause  of  her  defective  devel- 
opment. She  is  very  talkative  but  does  not  speak  distinctly; 
can  learn  a  short  piece,  is  cheerful  and  active,  not  very  obedient, 
quick  and  excitable,  rather  destructive,  somewhat  hard  to  manage, 
needing  very  much  care ;  is  very  affectionate ;  has  made  steady 
improvement  since  coming  to  the  School.  Pineal  gland  extract, 
seemed  to  have  a  valuable  effect  on  her.     She  was  very  small  for 


ACCIDENT    AFTER    BIRTH.     MENTALITY    3 


383 


her  age  when  she  arrived,  and  is  still  undersized.     Evidently  the 
whiskey  has  had  a  stunting  effect  upon  the  physical  growth. 

There  is  no  evidence  that  this  is  a  hereditary  case  ;  the  grand- 
parents are  all  in  Ireland  and  nothing  can  be  learned  ;  the  parents 
are   probably  nor-  chart  268 

mal      altho      both         Q-tO  DtO 

are     alcoholic.         It  mnoAND    m,iELAia>  mimAHB    iKi&LAjio 

cannot  be  said, 
however,  that  the 
alcohoHsm  of  the 
parents  caused  the 
defect  but  rather 
that  the  alcohol 
that  they  adminis- 
tered to  Dottie  in 


4LKED  1 

T7YRS.  J 


infancy  has  produced  the  result  in  her,  and  the  same  result  in 
an  older  sister. 

The  important  question  arising  in  this  case  is  whether,  without 
the  alcohol  and  under  hygienic  conditions,  the  defects  can  be 
overcome.     Time  alone  can  tell. 


CASE  269.  CLARA  I.  20  years  old.  Mentality  3.  Has  been  here  5 
years.  Born  in  Russia,  of  Russian  parents.  Had  measles  at  the  age  of 
three  years.     Supposed  cause  of  the  condition,  ''  a  fall  on  the  head." 

Clara   is    the    second 
IT71  /r\   ^"^^^  '"^n  /-\  born  in  a  family  of  ten. 

"— '  ^-^  I— I  ><^  'pj^g  family  are  Russian 

Jews  who  have  been  in 
this  country  several 
years.  No  others  are 
defective,  two  died  in 
infancy,  several  are  very 
bright.  The  father  and 
mother    are   apparently 


(n)[n](n)[n] — i-H^  (n)  (n)  (n)  '\ 


\k  ^  [N]-(t)(N)  b  (n)  [N]  [N]  [£] 


384  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

normal,  as  are  the  other  relatives.     No  evidence  of  unusually 
severe  physical  defect  or  disease  can  be  found. 

Clara  is  fairly  low  grade  and  deaf.  No  reason  is  given  for  the 
condition,  except  the  fall  received  when  eight  weeks  old.  The 
child  is  very  sUghtly  trainable,  able  to  do  some  errands  about  the 
house  and  simple  housework. 

CASE  270.  JENNIE  K.  9  years  old.  Mentality  3.  Has  been  here 
3  years.     American  born,  mother  colored.     Had  measles  at  the  age  of  four. 

Jennie  is  an  attractive  Kttle  colored  girl.  She  came  here  when 
she  was  five  years  and  nine  months  old.  At  that  time  she  could 
do  nothing;   was  just  beginning  to  walk  and  could  not    talk. 

She  had  been  discovered  under  very 
peculiar   conditions,  which  indicate 


NH-r-(N) 


that   she   had   been   very   seriously 
maltreated.     One  theory  is  that  the 

TO^  [nI  [Nl  [n]  [n]  '^''^^^'  ^^^^^  ^^^  because  she  was 

^  ^^         —  so  nearly  white ;    at  least  she  had 

L    V  been  for  a  long  time  neglected,  and 

^  >v  probably     drugged     and     brutally 

:sdDWii!«  treated  to  prevent  her  from  being 

I  discovered    and  recognized.     When 

JENNIE  K.  *=* 

finally  discovered  and  brought  to  the 
Training  School  she  was  in  the  condition  as  above  indicated. 

During  the  three  years  here,  she  has  made  great  improvement. 
Not  knowing  at  the  time  of  her  arrival  anything  about  her  his- 
tory that  would  give  us  any  clue  as  to  her  mental  condition,  we 
were  much  in  doubt  as  to  whether  she  was  distinctly  feeble- 
minded or  only  backward  by  deprivation.  Her  rapid  improve- 
ment during  the  first  months  led  us  to  hope  that  if  her  con- 
dition were  due  to  her  treatment,  she  had  been  rescued  early 
enough  to  save  her.  At  the  present  time,  altho  she  has  de- 
veloped remarkably,  it  is  probable,  that  if  she  was  not  naturally 
feeble-minded,  the  treatment  she  received  has  made  her  so  'crep- 


ACCIDENT   AFTER    BIRTH.     MENTALITY    3 


385 


arably,  and  while  she  has  perhaps  not  yet  reached  the  limit  of 
her  mental  development,  it  is  more  than  doubtful  if  she  will 
ever  recover  entirely.  She  will  probably  remain  a  feeble-minded 
child,  altho  possibly  of  high  grade. 

What  httle  we  have  been  able  to  learn  of  the  family  history 
would  not  indicate  that  this  is  a  case  of  hereditary  feeble-minded- 
ness.  The  mother  is  not  normal  herself  but  certainly  belongs 
to  a  normal  colored  family,  rather  above  average  inteUigence. 
The  mother  is  said  to  be  the  black  sheep  of  the  family  and  her 
behavior  may  be  pure  wickedness  rather  than  defect. 

Of  the  father  no  one  knows  anything.  In  all  probabihty 
he  was  a  white  man,  judging  by  the  color  of  the  child. 
The  mother  has  other  illegitimate  children ;  the  first  one  died  in 
infancy  and  was  colored,  the  one  younger  than  Jennie  is  a  little 
boy  who  is  also  colored,  the  very  youngest,  a  Httle  girl,  is  prob- 
ably of  a  white  father. 


CASE  271.  MATTIE  S.  lo  years  old.  Mentality  3.  Has  been  here 
2  years.  Born  in  Russia,  of  Russian  parents.  Had  whooping-cough  at 
nine  months,  sore  ears  at  seven  years,  measles  at  one  year. 

This  is  a  very  interesting  httle  Hebrew  child,  very  pretty,  but 
of  low  grade ;  does  very  Httle  in  the  kindergarten ;  plays  and 
dances  with  the  other  children  in  the  cottage;  seems  happy. 
She  has  had  frequent  screaming  spells,  late  at  night  or  early  in 
the  morning ;    had  been 


in      kindergarten 
years    before    she 


CHART    271 


two 
came 

here.  She  has  what 
seem  like  insane  spells ; 
has  pulled  out  two  teeth 
and  pulled  out  her  ear- 
rings while  in  one  of 
them;  beats  her  head; 
digs    herself    with    her 

2C 


nsj^ 


■® 


N 


<B) 


m^(N)(N)(H)\k\ 1 (n)(n)(n) 


oil 

k 


386 


FEEBLE-]MINDEDNESS 

She  is   also   a  mild   case  of 


nails,    screaming   all    the    time, 
echolalia. 

The  family  history  seems  thoroly  good,  the  father  and 
mother  are  certainly  normal  people,  very  pleasant  and  agreeable. 
From  all  accounts,  all  of  their  near  relatives  are  also  normal. 
They  are  certainly  not  in  any  sense  a  degenerate  family.  It  is 
their  belief  that  the  condition  resulted  from  measles  which  did 
not  develop  properly  and  the  defect  dated  from  that  time. 

CHART  272 


[5~?)-rnS 


tST  HUSBAND 


<5 


mmcN: 


X       FORCED       SxiA 
MARRIAGE       j  I 


2N0  HUSBAND 


o 


^(n)(n)(n)  In]^[n](A)    i    (N)j|[[Nl 

CASE  272.  KARL  H.  11  yesLVs  old.  Mentality  3.  Has  been  here  6 
years.  American  born,  father  American,  mother  Irish.  Had  convulsions 
when  born ;  has  spastic  paralysis,  has  had  measles  and  hemorrhage  of  the 
brain.     Supposed  cause,  "  cerebral  apoplexy  caused  by  infantile  paralysis." 

Karl  is  a  helpless  Httle  fellow  who  cannot  get  out  of  his  wheel- 
chair ;  has  no  strength  in  his  Umbs.  He  is  pleasant  and  happy 
but  does  not  talk. 

We  find  nothing  in  the  family  history  to  account  for  the 
condition.  The  father  is  somewhat  alcoholic  but  is  a  hard  work- 
ing man  of  rather  low  intellectual  type  but  hardly  to  be  con- 
sidered feeble-minded. 


CASE  273.  IKY  C.  II  years  old.  Mentahty  2.  Has  been  here  5 
years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  chorea.  Was  struck 
on  the  head  by  a  gate,  which  is  supposed  to  be  the  cause  of  the  condition. 

There  is  no  doubt  about  the  normality  of  this  family.  The 
only  thing  to  account  for  this  child's  condition  is  an  injury,  a 


CASE   272,   KARL   H.,    AGE    11. 
CASE   274,   HARVEY   D.,    AGE   16. 
CASE   278,   DON   D.,   AGE   24. 


MENTALLY    3.     (top) 
MENTALLY   1.     (centre  left) 
MENTALLY   10.  (centre  right) 


ACCIDENT    AFTER    BIRTH.      MENT.\LITY    i 


387 


blow  on  the  head  received  from  a  gate  which  swung  against  him 
and  knocked  him  down.  The  physician  thinks  that  the  speech 
center  was  injured  and  that  a  clot  of  blood  has  formed  on  the 


CHART  273 


[n]— r-<§^  [n]  [n]  [n}-tH^  (n)  (n) 


(g)(5)[N][N][N]   H  [n] 

k 

IKYC 

brain.  He  is  so  sure  of  this  that  he  would  risk  an  operation. 
Iky  could  say  a  few  words,  previous  to  this  accident,  but  since 
then,  has  never  talked ;  shows  a  httle  intelhgence  and  activity ; 
is  excitable  and  very  nervous. 

CHART   274 


On— {S"& — (§~^ 


[HP 


■<N) 


<N) 


[n][nI(n)[n1— p-(§  J> 


NK/j^(N)CN)rN: 


N 


Nl 


N)(N 


CASE  274.  HARVEY  D.  16  years  old.  Mentality  i.  Has  been  here 
9  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  convulsions  between 
the  ages  of  one  and  four  years. 


388 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


This  is  the  ninth  child  in  a  family  of  eleven.  It  is  a  thoroly 
respectable  family.  All  members,  that  have  been  found,  are 
entirely  normal.  Our  boy  had  a  brother  and  two  sisters  that 
died  young  but  the  rest  were  normal.  The  only  thing  to  ac- 
count for  our  boy's  condition  is  the  con\nilsions  which  came  on 
at  the  age  of  one  year.  He  gradually  retrograded  from  that 
time  and  has  never  recovered.  He  is  of  the  lowest  type,  perfectly 
helpless  and  untrainable.  Does  nothing  at  all,  has  violent 
spells,  pounds  his  head,  screams  and  cries ;  runs  away. 


CHART  275 

BOUND. 


<5^1-T-^(n)[n|  |Nh 


NEVER  TALKED 


<N) 


(n)  [n]  [N}-r-(N)    (n)[n]  [n}— p-(N)[M(N)[NllN][m® 


®(n)(n)[n|  [nJ— p-(N)@[N]© 


® 


CASE  275.  DON  I.  17  years  old.  Mentality  i.  Has  been  here  8 
years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  spasms  and  whooping- 
cough  at  the  age  of  three.     Supposed  cause,  "  a  fall  on  the  head." 

Don  is  an  instance  of  the  lowest  type  of  idiot ;  he  is  restless, 
destructive  and  noisy.  He  can  feed  himself,  but  is  quite  as 
apt  to  eat  with  his  fingers  as  with  a  spoon;  has  not  gained 
perceptibly  since  coming  to  the  Training  School;  has  con- 
vulsions which  are  supposed  to  be  due  to  •  the  fall  on  the 
head.     His  mental  defect  was  first  noticed  at  about  three  and 


ACCIDENT    AFTER    BIRTH.      MENTALITY    I 


389 


a  half  which  was  six  months  after  the  fall.  The  parents  are  sure 
that  the  condition  is  due  to  the  fall. 

Without  further  details  as  to  the  character  of  the  fall,  we  can 
pass  no  opinion  as  to  whether  that  was  likely  to  have  been  the 
cause  of  the  condition,  but  at  least  a  study  of  the  family  history 
reveals  nothing  that  would  indicate  hereditary  defect. 

It  is  true  that  a  maternal  grand-aunt  was  considered  feeble- 
minded and  an  uncle  and  aunt  in  the  same  generation  were 
born  deaf  and  never  learned  to  talk.  No  other  defect  has  ever 
been  found  and  there  was  on  each  side  a  large  family  of  highly 
respectable  people.  Of  course,  it  might  be  said  that  there  is  a 
defective  strain  here  that  has  lain  dormant  or  recessive  all  these 
years.  In  the  absence  of  all  other  data  we  accept  the  diagnosis 
of  ''due  to  accident." 


CHART    276 


®-i-D-i-6   Q-j-b 


!ir— I— i_r— p-v^ 

■— '     eno3.       9N0S.  •— ' 


CASE  276.  GERTIE  S.  18  years  old.  Mentality  i.  Has  been  here 
7  years.  American  born,  of  German  parents.  Had  scarlet  fever  at  the 
age  of  nine.  Had  a  faU  at  one  and  a  half  years,  which  is  supposed  to  be 
the  cause  of  the  trouble. 

Gertie  belongs  to  the  lowest  type  of  idiocy,  practically  without 
intelligence.  There  seems  to  be  no  traceable  defect  in  the 
family  and  it  seems 
necessary  to  accept  the 
fall  as  the  cause  of  the 
condition.  The  details 
of  this  are  somewhat  as 
follows : 

She  was  a  bright  child 
of  nearly  two  years  when 

she  feU  into  a  ditch  in  |N|  (NJ  0  |N| 

front  of  the  house ;  she 
did  not  seem  to  be  severely  hurt,  in  fact  did  not  cry,  but  within 
twelve  hours  had  a  severe  convulsion.  She  recovered  from  this 
and  played  around  during  the  day  but  the  next  morning  the 


r^pf^i(j)ij] 


390 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


spasms  returned  and  for  sixteen  weeks  the  child  had  convul- 
sions day  and  night.  Two  physicians  were  interviewed  in 
regard  to  the  case  by  our  Field  Worker  and  both  declared  it 
was  marvelous  that  the  child  could  Hve  in  such  a  condition, 
for  the  convulsions  were  almost  continuous  for  days.  She 
recovered  to  a  sHght  degree  but  the  parents  soon  reahzed 
that  the  child's  mind  was  not  normal.  She  did  not  grow  nor 
develop  to  any  extent,  and  at  the  age  of  four  years  was  taken 
with  scarlet  fever  and  again  her  Hfe  was  despaired  of.  When  the 
fever  left  her  she  was  unable  to  talk.  She  had  learned  a  few 
words  before  the  convulsions,  but  from  that  time  has  remained 
in  practically  the  condition  in  which  she  is  at  present. 

CASE  277.  EPHRAIM  X.  Age  17  years.  Mentality  io|.  Has  been 
here  4  years.  American  born,  American  parents.  Had  scarlet  fever  at 
the  age  of  eight,  measles  at  eleven ;  was  a  difficult  birth.  Instruments  at 
delivery  was  the  assigned  cause  of  the  trouble.  The  child  also  had  menin- 
gitis at  birth,  has  had  cholera  infantum  and  acute  B right's  disease  following 
the  measles.     This  is  a  very  severe  case  of  ataxia. 

Ephraim  has  very  great  difficulty  in  controlHng  his  legs  or 
hands,  or  even  the  organs  of  speech,  so  that  he  speaks  slowly 

and  with  great  effort; 


D 


O 


N 


■® 


^^©§^m&W« 


CHART  277  11, 

he  has  a  very  slow,  poor 
gait  and  a  good  deal 
of  trouble  to  make  his 
hands  do  what  he 
wishes.  Under  these 
circumstances  it  is  not 
at  all  easy  to  deter- 
mine his  mental  level. 
With  all  his  handicaps 

EPHKAOIX.  . 

he  passes  our  tests  at 
ten  and  a  half ;  it  is  quite  possible  that  he  might  do  better. 
He  has  an  excellent  memory  and  wonderful  persistence  when 
trying  to  finish  whatever  he  sets  out  to  do.     What  he  accom- 


6(c)  [Nl 


k 


MENINGITIS.      MENTALITY    lo  391 

pKshes  in  manual  training  is  really  amazing  in  view  of  his 
ataxic  condition.  He  can  make  baskets;  uses  scissors  and 
threads  his  needle ;  does  very  well  in  woodwork. 

The  writer  has  seen  him  walk  a  log  from  which  he  repeatedly 
fell  off  and  just  as  repeatedly  went  back  to  the  beginning  and 
started  over  again  ;  he  persisted  in  this  until  he  finally  succeeded 
in  going  the  entire  length.  He  is  cheerful,  affectionate,  very 
excitable ;  usually  obedient,  rather  talkative,  incHned  to  be  mis- 
chievous ;  is  naturally  very  nervous ;  is  truthful.  Ephraim  is 
under  size. 

A  glance  at  his  family  chart  forces  us  to  conclude  that  either 
the  instruments  or  the  meningitis  must  be  responsible  for  Ephra- 
im's  mental,  as  well  as  his  physical,  condition.  Of  these,  menin- 
gitis is  a  recognized  cause  of  feeble-mindedness  but  the  instru- 
ments might  better  account  for  the  motor  disturbances. 

The  mother's  family  are  thoroly  normal,  high  grade,  intelhgent 
people.  Less  is  known  of  the  father's  family.  He  is  reported 
to  have  been  cruel,  irresponsible  and  profligate,  but  there  is  no 
proof  that  this  was  due  to  feeble-mindedness. 

CASE  278.  DON  D.  24  years  old.  Mentality  10.  Has  been  here  11 
years.  American  born,  of  Italian  parents.  Had  brain  fever  at  the  age  of 
four  months  which  is  supposed  to  be  the  cause  of  his  condition. 

This  is  a  case  of  hydrocephalus.  Upon  admission  at  the  age 
of    fourteen,    Don's    head    was  ^^^^^  278 

noticeably    large,    so   much   so  [n] — | — (n) 

that  he  had  difhculty  in  walk- 
ing and  supporting  himself. 
He  could  read  in  the  Second 
Reader,  add,  subtract,  multiply 
and    divide ;    knew   color    and 


(bcjlli— r-(N)(N)(N)|N] 

63  4  ft  10 


form.     He   improved   in   these    [n]H[n][n]|n]|n](n)(n) 
lines  and  became  very  good  in  .  ^^ 

spelling,  can  read  in  the  Fourth  ^k  0. 


392 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


s 


O    [S"S}— r-(^ 


Reader  and  is  fully  up  to  his  mental  age  in  school  work.  He 
works  in  the  laundry  and  is  very  good  at  various  tasks  about 
the  Institution.  He  is,  of  late,  somewhat  irritable  and  very 
nervous.  He  belongs  to  a  very  good  family  and  there  is  no 
sign  of  mental  defect  anywhere.  The  father  was  a  drinking 
man,  sometimes  drinking  to  excess,  but  all  of  Don's  brothers 
and  sisters  are  entirely  normal. 

CASE  279.  OSCAR  T.  31  years  old.  Mentality  9.  Has  been  here 
13  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Assigned  cause,  "  cerebro- 
spinal meningitis."  Had  spasms  while  teething,  whooping-cough  at  twelve 
years  of  age ;  the  meningitis  occurred  when  six  years  old. 

Oscar  has  mentality  enough  to  enable  him  to  become  a  useful 
and  valuable  Institution  helper,  but  a  bad  disposition  has  played 

CHART  279  ^^^^OC     with      his 

usefulness.  How 
much  the  menin- 
gitis that  he  had 
in  his  youth  has 
to  do  with  his  dis- 
position, no  one 
knows.  He  has 
made  about  the 
I  usual  progress  of 

**'^^-  a   nine  year  old 

defective  in  the  three  R's.     He  writes  a  very  fair  letter  as  the 

following  sample  will  show  : 

''My  dear  Mother 

the  reason  I  have  not  written  to  you 
before  this  is  because  I  have  not  had  time  to 
write  to  you  I  was  very  sorry  indeed  to  hear 
you  were  sick  again  but  I  am  glad  to  know  you 
are  better.     Miss  Vernon  wants  to  know  when 
you  are  going  to  send  me  the  clothes  she  order- 
ed last  fall  in  October    please  send  them  as 


■(n)  (n)  (n)  [n] 


m^  rTrsiN    (^  (n)  [^l^  \k\ 


MENINGITIS.     MENTALITY    7  393 

soon  as  you  possibley  can  for  I  need  them  very 
much  indeed  as  I  am  out  of  shoes  they  are  all 
worn  out  so  will  you  please  send  me  shoes  very 
soon  is  Mary  and  billy  ever  coming  out  to  see  me  in 
their  bibe  for  I  want  them  both  very  much  indeed 
how  is  my  dear  brother    hope  you  are  all  well  at 
home  and  hoping  to  see  early  this  year  in  June 
From  your  loving  son 

Oscar" 

He  reads  fairly  well,  in  a  somewhat  jerky  manner,  as  he  talks, 
but  can  easily  tell  what  he  has  read.  He  has  a  violent  temper 
and  gets  very  angry,  and  at  such  times  he  is  not  careful  of  his 
language.  He  does  not  care  much  for  the  company  of  other  boys 
or  adults,  is  better  satisfied  to  be  by  himself,  when  he  works 
constantly  at  spool  knitting ;  can  do  good  work  in  the  carpenter 
shop  and  in  the  laundry,  but  his  disposition  often  interferes 
with  his  success  in  this  line.  He  is  truthful,  excitable,  very  sen- 
sitive, rather  forgetful ;  has  poor  sight ;  as  a  rule  he  is  easy  to 
manage  if  one  understands  him. 

At  the  first  glance  the  family  chart  is  a  little  suspicious  since 
we  see  one  defective  individual  besides  Oscar.  However,  closer 
study  of  the  family  leads  us  to  conclude  that  this  is  a  meningitis 
case  and  probably  not  hereditary.  The  family  are  all  normal  and 
of  high  standing ;  there  are  some  prominent  people  among  them. 

The  mother  was  subject  to  sick  headaches  and  the  father 
died  of  paralysis ;  the  other  feeble-minded  individual  is  an 
uncle  of  the  mother ;  he  died  at  forty-five  but  had  been  helpless 
all  his  life ;  this  was  supposed  to  be  due  to  a  fall,  so  that  appar- 
ently we  have  here  two  accidental  cases,  rather  than  two  that 
are  connected  in  any  hereditary  line. 

CASE  280.  GEORGIANA  L.  14  years  old.  Mentality  7.  Has  been 
here  5  years.  American  born;  father  American,  mother  English.  Had 
convulsions  at  seven  months ;  water  on  the  brain  at  six  months  ;  whooping- 
cough  at  seven  years.  Has  had  cerebro-spinal  meningitis.  Meningitis  is 
the  assigned  cause  of  the  condition. 


394  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

Georgiana  is  a  very  outspoken  child,  giving  one  the  impres- 
sion of  much  more  intelUgence  than  she  really  has.  Upon  ad- 
^  "ssion  she  knew  color  but  not  form ;  has  never  been  able  to  get 
Lcyond  the  simplest  kindergarten  work.  Georgiana  has  had 
her  troubles  physically,  and  the  hydrocephalus  and  meningitis 


CHART  280 

d.AT^         I     PARALYSIS    J  J  |  j 


a 


OV^TTT 


6a  4& 


k 


GEORGIANA  I 


have  left  her  a  mental  wreck.  She  is  the  older  of  two  children, 
the  younger  died  of  rheumatic  fever  and  dropsy.  The  father 
is  alcohohc,  syphilitic  and  possibly  hydrocephaHc. 

CASE  281.  KARL  B.  31  years  old.  Mentality  5.  Has  been  here  17 
years.  American  born  ;  father  American,  mother  Irish.  Instruments  were 
used  at  his  birth.  He  has  had  convulsions,  whooping-cough,  and  brain  fever 
at  the  age  of  one  year;  has  eczema.  His  sickness  is  supposed  to  be  the 
cause  of  his  condition. 

Karl  was  fourteen  when  he  entered  the  School,  did  a  Httle 
kindergarten  work  at  first,  learned  to  count  to  five  and  to  spell 
''boy"  and  "cow"  ;  never  got  much  beyond  this ;  has  become  a 
cottage  helper  in  the  coarsest  kind  of  work;  works  about  the 
kitchen,  scrubs,  pares  potatoes  and  at  the  barn  does  a  Httle 
sweeping. 

This  is  clearly  not  an  hereditary  case;  the  mother's  family 
are  perfectly  normal  and  are  respectable  people.  The  father 
was  said  to  be  abusive,  good-looking  and  inteUigent,  but  bad. 


MENINGITIS.     MENT.^LITY  4 


395 


He  was  quite  a  heavy  drinker.     Karl's  younger  sibs  are  normal 
and  two  of  them  have  normal  children. 


CHAllT    281 


D 


Q 


D 


O 


P^-r-(N)  (n)[n]|^      (n)[n](J^[n][n][n] 


lJi(i)(N)(N)[Nl    @     \N\\k\k\k  M 


n](n)    M 

The  mother  says  that  the  whooping-cough  followed  by  maras- 
mus which  he  had  at  eight  months  caused  the  complete  change 
in  him.  The  meningitis  (brain  fever)  is  probably  the  cause  of 
the  condition. 

CHART  282 

n-r-<N) 


<^    ^  ur^     nx^u^ 


VEXY  NEXV0U8 


[Nl<i(N)(N)(N)(N)     [iW®S>    (SWn&     (§® 

k 

LUELLAX. 

CASE  282.  LUELLA  X.  17  years  old.  Mentality  4.  Has  been  here 
8  years.  American  born,  of  Russian  parents.  Had  epilepsy  at  five  years, 
chorea,  measles,  brain  fever  at  nine  months.  Brain  fever  is  the  assigned 
cause  of  the  condition. 

Luella  speaks  Russian  but  never  talks  unless  it  is  necessary ; 
cannot  do  an  errand,  Kkes  music,  is  dangerous  with  fire;    has 


396 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


learned  to  sew  on  a  button  without  help;  helps  with  the 
smaller  children;  is  very  noisy;  lately  has  learned  to  darn 
stockings. 

Luella  is  a  very  attractive  looking  child,  would  never  be  sus- 
pected of  being  defective ;  has  a  smihng,  pretty  face.  She  had 
brain  fever  when  nine  months  old.  It  was  evidently  a  severe 
attack  as  ice  bags  were  kept  on  her  head  for  three  months.  She 
was  then  bhnd  for  two  years  and  did  not  talk  until  she  was  six. 
This  would  be  considered  sufficient  to  account  for  her  condition, 
but  the  father's  defect  points  to  heredity. 

She  is  the  second  born  in  a  family  of  six.  This  is  a  Russian 
family,  and  it  is  very  difficult  to  judge  of  the  mentahty  of  the 
various  people,  especially  the  elders.  Of  the  children,  there  is 
not  much  doubt.  The  remaining  five  are  normal.  The  mother 
seems  to  be  a  normal  woman  and,  as  far  as  is  known,  her  family 
are  normal.     The  father  is  feeble-minded. 

There  seems  a  high  probabiHty  that  this  is  a  case  of  hereditary 
feeble-mindedness,  yet  since  we  know  the  meningitis  could 
account  for  Luella's  condition  and  we  do  not  know  that  the 
father's  condition  was  not  also  due  to  accident,  we  have  credited 
this  to  meningitis. 


n-T-O 


CHART  283 


O-rO 


•  BEFORE  nARRiAce  ^        e 


Tn 


CASE  283.  ULYSSES  C.  18  years  old.  Mentality  3.  Has  been  here 
10  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  spinal  meningitis 
followed  by  paralysis  at  the  age  of  nine  months ;  has  had  spasms.  Was 
an  instrumental  delivery. 


MENINGITIS.     MENTALITY 


397 


Ulysses  is  a  very  low  grade  boy,  says  a  few  words  but  can 
hardly  be  said  to  talk ;  acts  insane  at  times,  is  a  little  incKned 
toward  echolalia ;  talks  to  himself  as  tho  he  were  another  person, 
and  strikes  himself  because  he  is  disobedient. 

The  father  is  reported  as  being  probably  s^-phihtic.  A  younger 
brother  of  Ulysses  is  normal.  The  maternal  grandfather  is  said 
to  have  died  at  forty  of  blood-poisoning.  Beyond  this  we  have 
been  unable  to  get  any  satisfactory  data.  It  is  clearly  a  menin- 
gitis case. 

CASE  284.  FRED  K.  11  years  old.  Mentality  3.  Has  been  here  3 
years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Has  had  brain  fever  which  is 
supposed  to  be  the  cause  of  his  defect ;  also  had  spasms  when  two  weeks 
old,  and  eczema. 

This  is  a  very  low  grade  imbecile  who  has  not  changed,  except 
physically,  since  his  admission.  Apparently  he  is  at  a  decided 
standstill ;  cannot  dress  nor  undress  himself,  understands  a  com- 
mand but  does  not  recognize  color  or  form ;  is  very  disobedient 
and  naughty,  kicks  and  strikes ;  has  rather  regular  features 
and  would  be  a  good-looking  boy  if  there  were  any  mind  to 
shine  out  thru  his  eyes ;  he  looks  dazed  and  stupid. 

Fred's  is  a  very  interesting  case  when  we  come  to  the  family 
history  ;  (see  Chart  255,  page  370),  not  only  because  he  is  a  cousin 
of  the  Mongohan  in  Case  255  but  because  on  the  father's  side 
there  is  an  interesting  condition.  The  father  himself,  altho  prob- 
ably normal,  is  nevertheless  exceedingly  dull.  His  father  and 
mother  were  rather  low  grade  people,  the  father  being  alcohohc 
and  syphilitic,  which  disease  the  mother  also  contracted.  The 
family  physician  considers  that  there  is  sufficient  defect  on  the 
father's  side  alone  to  account  for  the  children's  condition ; 
besides  being  alcoholic  the  grandfather  was  promiscuous  in  his 
habits,  as  would  indeed  be  indicated  by  the  venereal  disease. 

Fred's  younger  brother  is  also  considered  defective  by  many, 
but  according  to  the  Binet  test  he  did  not  at  the  time  examined 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


show  defect ;  it  is  entirely  possible  that  it  may  appear  later  and 
an  effort  will  be  made  to  examine  him. 

In  view  of  all  of  the  facts,  including  the  brain  fever,  which 
probably  means  cerebral  meningitis,  it  is  not  quite  safe  to  con- 
sider this  a  case  of  hereditary  defect.  Such  a  thing  is  of  course 
possible  but  not  provable  from  our  data.  Fred  gives  a  positive 
Wassermann  reaction. 

For  later  report,  see  page  3 1 . 


CHART  285 


ii](J5(J)66d  [ti6[N](^(§[N](§j^ 


Q    E]  la 


CASE  285.  DANIEL  X.  45  years  old.  Mentality  3.  Has  been  here 
21  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  measles,  whooping- 
cough,  brain  fever  at  the  age  of  two,  pneumonia,  cholera  infantum  at  two. 
The  cholera  infantum  and  congestion  of  the  brain  are  supposed  to  be  the 
cause  of  his  condition. 

When  admitted  at  the  age  of  twenty-four  Daniel's  speech  was 
imperfect ;  he  could  do  errands  and  liked  to  draw  animals  and  boats 
most  of  the  time.  He  has  never  been  very  trainable,  learned  to 
sweep  and  dust  a  Httle,  and  to  do  some  other  simple  housework. 

The  family  has  the  appearance  of  being  a  normal  one.  It  is 
highly  probable  that  the  meningitis  is  the  cause  of  the  condition. 

CASE  286.  SYLVANUS  C.  19  years  old.  Mentality  2.  Has  been 
here  9  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Has  had  epileptic 
convulsions  and  meningitis.     Instrumental  delivery. 


MENINGITIS.     MENTALITY    2 


399 


Sylvanus  is  a  low  grade  case  of  the  very  excitable  type.  He  is 
very  active  and  quarrelsome,  is  said  to  take  advantage  of  any 
one  who  shows  fear  of  him. 

The  family  is  thoroly  respectable  and  seems  clear  of  any- 
thing that  could  account  for  either  the  physical  or  mental  con- 
dition. 

This  seems  to  be  a  perfectly  clear  case  of  mental  defect  result- 
ing from  meningitis  and  scarlet  fever.     There  is  no  hereditary 


CHART    286 


[a^[a[N]M 

(S<S^  (§^^1£"§^  (n)[n](n)[nI(n)(n)(^ 


defect  in  the  family.  The  grandparents  were  all  normal  and 
died  of  old  age.  The  mother  and  father  are  perfectly  normal  and 
healthy  as  are  uncles,  aunts  and  cousins.  Sylvanus  had  what 
was  called  scarlet  rash  at  13  months,  considered  to  be  from 
teething,  but  soon  after,  a  sister  was  taken  down  with  scarlet 
fever.  Then  it  was  thought  that  our  boy  had  had  scarlet  fever 
and  taken  cold.  He  was  never  right  afterwards.  He  had  a 
convulsion  which  lasted  eleven  hours  and  the  next  day  had 
twenty-six  in  succession;  was  paralyzed  after  that,  and  has 
never  developed. 


CASE  287.  BESSIE  D.  21  years  old.  Mentality  2.  Has  been  here 
15  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  meningitis  at  six 
months,  chicken-pox  at  nine  years.  Meningitis  is  supposed  to  be  the  cause. 
Wassermann  reaction  is  positive. 


400 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


CHART    287 


<S©^    [n][n](n)  (§a^ 


k 


Bessie  has  rather 
a  normal  physique 
but  cannot  care  for 
herself,  does  not 
talk  except  to  say 
two  or  three  words ; 
does  no  work,  is 
practically  un  train- 
able. 

The  condition  is 


■  undoubtedly  caused  by  spinal  meningitis  and  the  family  history 
shows  no  other  defect  or  even  serious  physical  disability. 


CHART  288 


m^ 


IH1-T-®E1 


<n)    (§W^^)-t-c5^^^^ 


MANY  CHILDREN 


N 


1IT  WIFE 


N)(t)6tl 


(§EI      (N)  (N)  (^  [n]  (^         M^ 


CASE  288.  SARA  I.  19  years  old.  Mentality  2.  Has  been  here  11 
years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  spasms  at  two  years. 
Cerebro-spinal  meningitis  and  infantile  paralysis  also  at  two;  has  had 
measles  and  whooping-cough.     Supposed  cause,  "  a  fall  at  twenty  months." 

A  thoroly  normal  family.  It  is  true  the  maternal  grandfather 
was  insane  late  in  life,  but  there  does  not  seem  to  be  sufficient 
evidence  that  his  insanity  had  any  effect  on  his  posterity,  altho 
one  grandson  is  said  to  be  dull.     It  is  quite  possible  that  his 


CASE   288,    SARA   I.,    AGE   19. 
CASE   298,    NANCY   H.,    AGE   17. 
CASE  299,   HAROLD   T.,   AGE   18. 


MENTALLY  2. 
MENTALLY  3. 
MENTALLY  2. 


MENINGITIS.      MENTALITY    2  401 

insanity  was  connected  with  a  very  serious  fall  he  had  from  a 
high  building. 

On  the  other  hand,  Sara  seems  to  have  had  experiences  which 
are  sufficient  to  account  for  her  condition.  Her  relatives  insist 
that  she  was  perfectly  normal  as  a  baby,  but  when  about  18 
months  old,  as  her  mother  was  carrying  her  down  stairs,  she  stum- 
bled and  fell  striking  the  child's  forehead  on  every  step.  The 
collar  bone  was  also  broken  and  the  muscles  torn  from  the  bone. 
Later  the  child  fell  off  a  high  trunk  striking  her  head  on  the  floor. 
Very  soon  after  this,  she  was  taken  with  a  raging  fever  and  convul- 
sions that  lasted  quite  a  time  and  came  in  rapid  succession.  All 
night  the  child  lay  unconscious,  having  violent  inward  spasms. 
The  doctor  did  not  think  that  she  could  survive  until  morning, 
but  a  change  came  and  the  fever  subsided.  The  convulsions 
ceased  and  she  began  slowly  to  recover.  After  this  she  had  to 
learn  again  to  walk  but  she  never  afterward  talked. 

It  is  probably  safest  to  consider  this  a  case  of  meningitis.  It  is 
not  known  whether  such  a  fall  could  cause  feeble-mindedness, 
while  we  do  know  that  meningitis  does. 

She  is  to-day,  a  pleasant^  smiling  child  of  17,  but  with  no  men- 
taHty,  entirely  untrainable  and  without  any  abiHty  to  work 
or  care  for  herself. 

CASE  289.  DAVID  N.  12  years  old.  Mentality  2.  Has  been  here 
6  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  measles  at  the  age  of 
four,  convulsions  at  one  and  a  half.  Assigned  cause,  "  acute  sickness,  prob- 
ably meningitis." 

David's  case  is  a  typical  one;  he  is  an  epileptic  and  has  all 
the  characteristics  of  a  child  of  his  mentahty,  that  is,  the 
idiot  grade.  Does  not  talk  and  is  thoroly  untrainable.  He  is 
small  of  stature  altho  of  about  average  weight.  He  is  rather 
a  nice  looking  Httle  chap  in  spite  of  all  his  disabihties.  His 
attendant  reports  the  following  —  ''he  is  very  fond  of  music, 
he  is  choice  in  the  kind,  too.     When  a  record  is  played  that  he 

2  D 


402 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


does  not  like,  he  cries  and  stutters  but  when  he  does  hke  it,  laughs 

and  claps  his  hands."    He  is  very  sensitive  and  likes  to  be  noticed. 

After  a  study  of  the  family  chart  we  are  led  to  conclude  that 


CHART  289 


Hl-rO 


D 


m 


1121  NEUXOfl 


N 


d 


o 


® 


m 


MCn 


>»(N)(N)n^ 


Nl 


^-'mos.hos.  a    «»■         hobhos.    a    hos.  poor  david  n.  ^  a 


k 

this  is  a  case  of  acquired  defect,  the  meningitis  or  some  of  the 
other  early  troubles  undoubtedly  being  the  cause. 

A  cousin  on  the  father's  side  is  indeed  feeble-minded,  but  this 
is  also  a  case  of  meningitis. 

CASE  290.  HENRY  U.  16  years  old.  Mentality  2.  Has  been  here 
2  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Instruments  were  used 
at  birth.  Child  had  measles  at  the  age  of  four;  probably  had  cerebro- 
spinal meningitis  at  two  and  a  half. 

This  is  a  low  grade  child  concern- 
ing whose  case  little  satisfaction 
can  be  gathered.  He  commenced 
to  talk  at  two  years  but  lost  his 
speech  at  four.  Had  chills  and  fever 
when  two  and  a  half  years,  which 
might  have  been  meningitis  as  he 
had  slight  convulsions.  From  three 
to  eight  years  he  had  nervous  ex- 
citabiHty. 


CHART    290 


Q-rO 


k 


MENINGITIS.     MENTALITY    i 


403 


In  the  Training  School  he  has  accompHshed  nothing,  hkes  to 
play  with  blocks  and  look  at  books  but  is  not  improving,  is 
not  even  a  clean  child. 

The  family  history  is  too  meager  to  give  us  anything  satisfac- 
tory as  to  the  cause. 


CHART   291 


Qt^ 


D 


■Q 


m-r<5  5Q5i-r(SS5a^55 

*■        APOpIaCY  *I    "PECULIAR" 

in.cL        » 

LN-ClLCa. 


[N]d(j(N)[Nl(N)!Nl-r-®^  ®  [SSS 


OEUCATE  SIBtreV  B.^*^ 

CASE  291.  SIDNEY  M.  12  years  old.  Mentality  i.  Has  been  here 
3  years. 

Sidney  is  a  low  grade  case  with  practically  no  intelligence. 
He  cannot  care  for  himself,  walks  with  much  effort  altho  he 
seems  to  be  improving  a  httle  in  that  direction. 

The  family  chart  shows  an  array  of  normal  people  and  we 
learn  that  Sidney  was  a  victim  of  cerebral  meningitis  at  the  age 
of  fourteen  months,  also  had  spasms ;  had  measles  at  the  age  of 
eight  years.  The  meningitis  is  without  doubt  the  cause  of  the 
condition. 


CASE  292.  NATHAN  S.  15  years  old.  Mentality  i.  Has  been  here 
7  years.  American  born,  of  Austrian  parents.  He  had  measles  at  two 
years  and  brain  disease  from  a  fall  at  thirteen  months,  which  is  supposed 
to  be  the  cause  of  the  condition. 

This  is  a  very  difficult  family  about  which  to  get  accurate 
data.     All  the  members  seem  normal  but  they  are  all  foreigners 


404 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


and  of  rather  low  intelligence,  altho  seemingly  not  low  enough 
to  be  called  feeble-minded.  There  is  much  intermarriage.  The 
parents  were  second  cousins  and  the  grandparents  were  also 


CHART    292 


[^(n)[^(n)[n][nH^  IJ(n)(n) 

(N)|i(N)[N](N)(N)(N)    [nI[n](n)(n)(n)[n][!] 


related.  Our  boy  is  of  the  lowest  grade,  does  not  talk,  does  not 
play,  cannot  dress  nor  undress  himself ;  is  sober,  silent,  cranky, 
restless,  slow  and  destructive. 

It  seems  probable  that  this  is  a  meningitis  case.     He  gives  a 
positive  reaction  in  the  Wassermann  test. 


NO    CAUSE   FOUND.     MENTALITY   8 


405 


NO    ASSIGNABLE    CAUSE 

The  following  8  cases,  Nos.  293  to  300,  compose  the  No  Cause 
Group.  In  spite  of  the  fact  that  our  records  are  very  complete, 
there  is  nothing  in  the  history  of  these  cases  that  would  usually 
be  accepted  as  an  adequate  cause. 


CHART    293 


D 


o 


D 


"BEAJtT  TRODBLE" 


O 


'UVER  TKOUBLT* 


(55hS1-T-<§        S  [n]  (^[n]    [n1    (n) 

»*•  I 


m    ^  (n)(n)  n  □ 

ST.  vrru 
L  ^m  DANCE 


MK^nnvnnso 


N     XM     rn      I'n 


[n1(n)(n)^[n]  (n) 


CASE  293.  MOSES  W.  24  years  old.  Mentality  8.  Has  been  here 
7  years.  American  born  of  American  parents.  Had  diphtheria  at  the  age 
of  two,  measles  at  twelve,  scarlet  fever  at  eleven,  whooping-cough  at  ten 
and  convulsions  at  thirteen.  Assigned  cause  of  the  condition,  "  the  worry 
of  the  mother." 

Moses  is  a  moron,  but  not  of  the  highest  grade ;  has  a  somewhat 
dull  look,  his  mind  works  very  slowly,  he  does  not  seem  interested, 
is  rather  indolent ;  has  learned  about  the  usual  amount  of  the 
three  R's;  writes  a  very  bad  letter  in  penmanship,  spelling  and 
expression. 

His  chief  work  is  of  the  coarser,  heavier  sort,  housework,  shoe- 
shop,  laundry  and  the  like.  He  is  a  cheerful  boy,  quiet  and 
obedient,  truthful  and  honest,  somewhat  sensitive,  very  affec- 
tionate ;  is  very  faithful  and  tries  hard  to  do  whatever  he  can 
do.  The  following  is  a  sample  of  one  of  his  letters  and  a  program 
that  he  made  up  for  Morning  Assembly  at  the  Training  School— 


4o6 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


Vineland,  NJ. 

June  15,  1910 
Dear  mother  I  hope 
you  are  well 
How  did  you  in 
joy  your  anual 
meetin  last  week 
I  hope  you  in 
joyed  it  very  much 


we  had  a  nice 
time  to  day  I  got 
some  flowers  to  day 
I  hope  you  are  all 
well  at  hom  hope 
to  here  from  you 
soon  your 

Loving  son 


NO   CAUSE   FOUND.     MENTALITY    2  40? 

One  would  need  to  know  about  the  Assembly  to  understand  his 
program.  He  seems  to  have  ten  numbers  but  as  a  matter  of 
fact  the  figures  only  designate  the  Hnes  and  have  no  connection 
with  his  subjects. 

Moses'  family  history  raises  some  questions  that  are  unan- 
swerable. The  general  appearance  of  it  would  seem  to  indicate 
good  stock,  indeed  they  are  thoroly  respectable  and  good 
people.  A  paternal  uncle,  however,  was  a  defective  of  very  low 
grade.  He  never  learned  to  talk  but  was  harmless  and  lived 
alone  with  his  mother.  If  we  were  to  count  this  as  indicative  of 
hereditary  taint  we  must  conclude  that  the  taint  is  decidedly 
recessive  since  it  very  seldom  appears.  To  prove  this  would  re- 
quire much  more  data  than  we  have  from  earHer  generations. 
The  probabiHty  is  much  greater  that  this  uncle  was  also  a  case  of 
accidental  defect  and  that  here  we  are  dealing  not  with  heredity, 
but  with  the  coincidence  of  two  accidental  cases  of  mental  defec- 
tiveness in  the  same  family. 

CASE  294.  GEORGE  C.  32  years  old.  Mentality  2.  Has  been  here 
24  years.  American  born;  father  German,  mother  American.  Had  spasms 
at  two  years,  measles  and  whooping-cough. 

George  is  another  case  belonging  to  the  group  of  unsolved 
problems.  The  family  is  normal  and  intelligent;  and  nothing  is 
known   to   account    for    George's   con-  ^^^^^  ^ 

dition.  Q_l^   [nH-® 

The   maternal    grandfather   died   of        "*  -.      -32         a. 

paralysis  at  the  age  of  fifty- two;   this 

is  the  only  thing  that  approaches  brain        [n]  [n]  |^ 

trouble  of  any  kind  so  far  as  we  can         *■      "^     "" 

learn.  . —^ — . 

George  is  of  low  grade,  does  not  talk,   r\-^ — \n\  H  (n)  [n] 
cannot  even  unbutton  his  clothing;  is  "^j!^^ 

dangerous  with  fire ;  will  eat  garbage ;  I 

is  bad  tempered.     Since  admission  he       N     N 


<N) 


4o8 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


has  improved  a  little ;  at  one  time  knew  his  right  and  left  hand 
and  could  sew  on  a  button;  he  even  went  to  school,  but  he 
never  got  far ;  had  cleanly  habits  and  is  said  to  be  very  fond 
of  good  clothing.  Now  he  does  no  work,  needs  constant  care 
and  supervision. 

CHART  m 

\Ehr®  [n]— [-<n) 


^W°t 


'5%i- 


MMM    HE®[n1(n)In] 


CASE  295.  EVAN  C.  15  years  old.  Mentality  2.  Has  been  here  7 
years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Condition  is  said  to  be  con- 
genital. 

This  is  a  low  grade  case  with  nothing  whatever  to  account  for 
it.  Five  brothers  and  sisters  are  normal ;  parents,  aunts,  uncles 
and  grandparents  are  also  normal.  Our  boy  is  perfectly  helpless, 
neither  dresses  nor  undresses  himself,  cannot  talk,  cannot  do 
anything.  He  has  to  be  fed,  eats  stones,  buttons,  etc.  unless 
watched ;  plays  with  a  string ;  no  sense  of  cleanliness ;  no  hope 
of  improvement. 

The  family  attribute  the  condition  to  a  nervous  shock  received 
by  the  mother  in  about  the  third  month  of  pregnancy.  She 
visited  a  minstrel  show  and  suddenly  became  ill  and  had  to  be 
taken  out.  When  the  baby  was  born,  he  showed  plainly  that 
he  was  without  intelligence  and  early  began  making  contortions 
and  grimaces  which  seem  to  the  parents  similar  to  those  that 
had  sickened  the  mother  on  that  particular  occasion. 


CASE  296.     DOROTHY   N.     16  years  old.     Mentality   2. 
here  10  years.     American  born,  of  American  parentage. 


Has  been 


NO   CAUSE   FOUND.     MENTALITY    i 


409 


Dorothy  is  short  and  stout  with  features  that  would  not  be 
uncomely  if  there  were  a  mind  to  direct  them,  but  she  is 
low  grade  and  untrainable.  She  went  to  school  three  hours  a 
day  for  five  years 


D 


CUARI  296 


o 


o 


[n]  [n]  [n]  [n]  [n]  [nJ— r-(N)  [n]  [n]  [n]  [n] 


FAnaV  NEDIOCRE  BVT  APPEARS 
TO  BE  NORflAt  ON  BOTH  SIDES 


and  in  that  time 
learned  only  how 
to  sew  around  a 
circle  and  color  in- 
side and  mark  the 
lines  ;  '  she  does 
practically  nothing 
and  is  a  harmless, 
useless,  innocent 
child.  She  leads  a  perfectly  colorless  Kfe.  The  same  term 
would  apply  to  her  family ;  they  are  neither  conspicuously  dull 
nor  bright  nor  interesting  in  any  way,  so  that  there  is  nothing 
worthy  of  note  in  regard  to  them.  They  seem  to  be  slow  and 
mediocre  but  normal. 


DOROTHY 


d 


CHART  297 


®EE> 


o 


® 


m 

d.70 


®  (n)(n)|n]     mi     (n)[n](n) 

k 

LOUIS  B. 

CASE  297.  LOUIS  B.  10  years  old.  Mentality  i.  Has  been  here  3 
years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  whooping-cough  at 
five  months.     Condition  is  said  to  be  congenital. 


4IO 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


This  child  is  of  a  highly  respectable  family,  all  the  members 
being  normal.  The  paternal  grandfather  died  of  paralysis  at 
seventy-five.  His  wife's  father  was  alcoholic.  The  maternal 
grandmother  died  of  apoplexy  at  sixty-four.  There  is  no  theory 
to  account  for  our  child's  condition.  He  is  low  grade,  does  not 
talk,  and  appears  not  to  hear.  He  makes  a  queer  sucking  noise 
with  his  tongue.  Is  undersized ;  is  very  nervous.  There  are 
some  indications  that  he  may  be  of  the  cretinoid  t5^e. 


CHART 


m 


<N) 


<N) 


(§S§WSSS5fiS]T<§3SHSSSi^ 


(ST^^TTi, 


k 

CASE  298.  NANCY  H.  17  years  old.  Mentality  3.  Has  been  here 
7  years.  American  born;  father  American,  mother  unknown.  Colored. 
Supposed  cause,  *'  marasmus  "  which  she  had  at  the  age  of  two  months. 

Nancy  is  a  low  grade  child,  utterly  silly  and  useless  and  untrain- 
able.  There  is  no  indication  that  this  is  a  case  of  heredity. 
The  father  and  mother  are  perfectly  normal  colored  people  of  the 
better  sort.  It  is  true  the  mother  has  only  one  living  child  be- 
sides Nancy,  but  she  is  normal.  The  mother  was  very  ill  before 
Nancy  was  born  and  it  seems  Kkely  that  there  was  some 
abnormal  condition  at  that  time,  that  caused  the  defect. 
It  is  true  that  the  mother's  brother  is  feeble-minded,  but  he 
is  also  epileptic,  the  epilepsy  dating  from  the  age  of  three,  so 
that  it  is  entirely  possible  that  his  mental  defect  is  a  result 
of  the  epilepsy  and  not  to  be  considered  as  itself  a  hereditary 
defect. 


NO   CAUSE   FOUND.     MENTALITY   2 


411 


CASE  299.  HAROLD  T.  18  years  old.  Mentality  2.  Has  been  here 
10  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  diphtheria  at  the 
age  of  three,  measles  at  four,  had  partial  paralysis  from  waist  down.  Con- 
dition said  to  be  congenital. 

There  is  nothing  to  indicate  any  bad  heredity  in  this  family. 
Both  grandfathers  were  alcoholic,  both  grandmothers  are  Uving 
at  advanced  years.  The  parents,  aunts,  uncles  and  cousins  are 
thoroly   normal,    and   rather   unusually  healthy.     Our   boy   is 

CHART   299 


[n|— j-<n)-Hn]      I^-r<N) 

nr  MVseANO  I zno  husband 


(§W^WSl-yH§^^^i^^ 


^^^(S^SSSS^SSS^ 


N]  N  nCn)  m 


one  of  a  large  family,  the  only  defective  one.  An  older  and  a 
younger  brother  died  young,  of  abscess  of  the  brain.  There  is 
nothing  to  account  for  this  boy's  condition.  He  is  low  grade, 
does  not  talk ;  cannot  dress  nor  undress  himself,  in  fact  cannot 
do  anything ;  plays  with  strings,  tears  his  clothes  to  make  strings. 
Is  clean,  indifferent,  not  capable  of  any  training. 


CASE  300.  EUNICE  G.  31  years  old.  Mentality  2.  Has  been  here 
21  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  mumps  at  two  years, 
whooping-cough  at  four ;  had  convulsions  after  birth  and  during  dentition ; 
deficient  animation  at  birth. 

Eunice  is  a  low  grade  child,  untrainable  and  does  practically 
nothing. 


412 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


There  is  nothing  to  account  for  this  case ;   she  belongs  to  a 
good  family  and  there  is  no  history  of  disease  that  would  be  a 


CHART  300 


M- 


<N) 


m-r® 


(n)[n][n][n][n][nJ 


2N  \  °*  atAMlLt 


Jj^SSS^    (N) 


probable  cause  anywhere  along  the  line.     In  the  present  state  of 
our  knowledge  such  a  case  absolutely  baffles  us. 


UNCLASSIFIED.     MENTALITY   7 


413 


UNCLASSIFIED 

The  following  27  cases,  Nos.  301  to  327,  compose  the  group  of 
Unclassified  Cases.  While  in  some  instances  there  is  more  or 
less  probability  that  the  case  belongs  in  one  of  our  preceding 
groups,  the  data  are  so  meager  that  we  have  not  felt  justified  in 
making  the  classification. 


CHART    301 


&H-® 


tnxEsop 

UTEKUS 

(S~~S^o=3-r-c5n6 

I  I  i»T  Wife  I       2N0  WIFE     "••       *  38 

I  I  I  CIUFPLC 

Gusa 
CASE  301.     GUS  B.     16  years  old  (colored).     Mentality  8.     Has  been 
here  6  years.     American  born,  father  and  mother  African- Americans.     Had 
whooping-cough  at  the  age  of  seven  years.     Condition  said  to  have  been 
partly  congenital  and  partly  due  to  lack  of  training. 

Gus  is  a  rather  typical  colored  boy.  When  admitted  at  the 
age  of  ten,  he  spoke  rapidly  but  intelligibly ;  had  been  in  public 
school  four  years  ;  could  not  write  ;  could  count  a  little  and  knew 
his  alphabet.  After  five  years  the  record  is,  "has  worked  hard  in 
Enghsh  and  has  improved  in  all  lines  of  it ;  can  add  most  combina- 
tions to  ten  but  cannot  subtract  all  of  them  ;  does  well  in  knitting, 
is  a  good  all-around  boy."  Is  a  cheerful,  active,  good-tempered, 
mischievous  fellow,  capable  of  a  good  deal  of  work  and  can  do 
many  kinds  very  well.  Has  clearly  reached  his  Hmit  in  book  work 
and  will  settle  down  Kke  the  rest,  to  be  a  good  Institution  helper. 

There  seems  to  be  no  feeble-mindedness  in  this  family,  nor 
anything  that  would  be  considered  an  adequate  cause  for  Gus's 
condition,  unless  the  whooping-cough  is  to  be  accepted.     The 


414  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

father  was  alcoholic,  but  late  in  life.  The  father  and  mother 
both  were  good,  hard-working  people  and  certainly  would  be 
qonsidered  normal  by  most  people. 

There  are  many  factors  in  the  problem  of  the  colored  race.     It 
is  useless  to  speculate  on  this  single  instance  of  feeble-mindedness. 

CHART   302 


fTWlNi 

JANE  a. 


UfC  I 

k 


CASE  302.  JANE  H.  36  years  old.  Mentality  8.  Has  been  here  23 
years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Assigned  cause,  "  a  fall  on 
the  head  at  the  age  of  three  and  a  half."  Child  had  diphtheria  at  seven 
years,  measles  at  nine,  whooping-cough  at  ten. 

Jane  was  fourteen  years  old  when  she  came  to  the  Training 
School,  could  wash  dishes  and  do  similar  work  but  was  not  very 
neat ;  could  not  be  trusted  ;  was  untruthful,  sly  and  passionate ; 
generally  obedient.  Her  head  was  noticeably  small;  she  did 
not  talk  plainly;  could  read  and  count  a  little.  She  has 
made  considerable  improvement  since  coming  here,  now  does 
fairly  good  needle-work  and  embroidery ;  works  in  the  laundry 
and  seems  capable  of  learning  a  new  occupation  and  of  more 
improvement ;  has,  however,  very  bad  habits. 

A  glance  at  the  chart  shows  that  we  know  very  little,  positively, 
about  her  family ;  it  seems  fairly  probable  that  her  mother  was 
a  normal  woman  since  she  had  nothing  but  normal  children  by 
her  first  husband.  Jane's  father  was  evidently  a  bad  man, 
immoral  and  alcoholic ;   he  was  also  brutal ;   was  divorced  from 


CASE    302,    JANE    H.,    AGE    36.  MENTALLY    8. 

CASE   300,    EUNICE    G.,    AGE   31.     MENTALLY   2. 
CASE   304,    GERTIE    G.,   AGE   19.     MENTALLY   7. 


UNCLASSIFIED.     MENTALITY   7 


415 


his  first  wife.  Whether  Jane's  condition  is  hereditary  thru 
him  or  due  to  congenital  condition  as  the  result  of  his  brutality, 
it  is  impossible  to  say.  Either  explanation  might  do.  Jane 
learned  to  read  in  the  Third  Reader  but  never  got  beyond  that. 


CASE  303.  OSCAR  N.  29  years  old.  Mentality  8.  Has  been  here 
12  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  spasms  when  a  baby ; 
had  paralysis ;  measles  at  one  year,  scarlet  fever  at  two  years,  whooping- 
cough  at  three  years.     Condition  supposed  to  be  the  result  of  sickness. 

Oscar  came  here  at  the  age  of  seventeen ;  he  was  large  for  his 
age,  took  care  of  himself,  could  not  read,  could  count  to  100 ; 
could  not  add  nor  subtract ;  could  not  recognize  color  or  form ; 
had  been  in  pubHc  school  for  two  years.  Under  training  here 
he  learned  to  read  and  write 
better,  and  to  do  number  work, 
and  to  write  a  very  nice  letter. 
Oscar  improved  very  greatly  in 
work  and  disposition ;  has  re- 
cently been  paroled  and  is  earn- 
ing his  living  under  the  supervi- 
sion of  a  brother. 

So  little  could  be  learned  of 
Oscar's  family  that  it  is  impossible 
to  classify  this  as  an  hereditary  case.  The  mother  is  of  low  in- 
telligence, but  whether  she  would  be  classed  as  feeble-minded  it 
is  difficult  to  say.  The  father  was  alcohohc  and  had  a  bad 
disposition ;  more  than  that,  could  not  be  learned  about  him. 


CASE  304.  GERTIE  G.  19  years  old.  Mentality  7.  Has  been  here 
9  years.  American  born;  father  American,  mother  EngUsh.  Had  measles 
at  two  years,  whooping-cough  at  three,  convulsions  at  six  months.  Supposed 
cause,  ''  the  worry  of  the  mother  at  the  death  of  her  mother-in-law." 

Gertie  is  a  high  grade  imbecile  and  has  had  convulsions,  some- 
times as  high  as  fifteen  a  day.  Commenced  to  walk  at  the  age 
of  four  and  talked  at  six. 


4i6 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


Since  she  has  been  here  she  has  improved  quite  a  little  in  habits, 
has  learned  to  help  at  easy  manual  tasks  and  can  take  care  of 
little  children  very  nicely  under  direction. 

So  far  as  it  has  been  traced,  this  is  not  a  case  of  hereditary 
feeble-mindedness.     There  is  some  doubt  about  the  mother's 


CHART    304 


D 


Q 


Q 


Q 


■S55®56 


i5ff©S^ 


|N](^(t)[N][N] 


tN  EETOM  SCHOOL 


I 

mental  condition,  her  alcoholism  making  it  difficult  to  deter- 
mine her  natural  intelHgence.  There  is  tuberculosis  on  the 
paternal  side  and  a  maternal  cousin  of  Gertie's  is  sexually  im- 
moral and  has  been  in  the  Reform  School  for  Girls. 

CASE  305.  NANCY  L.  25  years  old.  Mentality  7.  Has  been  here 
14  years.  American  born,  nationality  of  parents  unknown.  Has  had  whoop- 
ing-cough and  had  typhoid  fever  at  the  age  of  fourteen. 

Nancy  is  a  cheerful,  affectionate  girl,  very  active  and  obedient, 
truthful,  somewhat  timid.     When  she  came  here  at  the  age  of 
eleven  she  was  under  size,  and  is  yet.     She  went 
up  and  down  stairs  very  clumsily ;  speech  was  im- 
perfect, knew  part  of  the   alphabet ;    could   count 
to  nineteen ;    could   write    her  name ;    did   simple 
^r*~7         housework  ;   was  considered  destructive  and  sulky ; 
iScY-u     ^^^    ^^^^   ^^    school   a   long   time   but   had    only 
ll         learned  to  count  and  know  her  letters. 


CHART   305 

cM3 


UNCLASSIFIED.     MENTALITY   6 


417 


Nothing  of  note  was  accomplished  in  her  training  in  the  three 
R's.  She  learned  to  sew,  and  became  a  good  cottage  helper. 
Her  speech  remains  about  the  same  as  when  admitted.  She 
became  very  helpful  and  useful  especially  with  the  Httle  children. 
At  present  she  works  with  the  dressmaker  half  the  day  and  in 
the  cottage  the  rest  of  the  time. 

Nancy  and  an  older  brother  were  left  by  their  father  with  a 
family.  He  paid  their  board  for  a  short  time  and  then  deserted 
them.  He  was  alcohoHc,  the  mother  was  tuberculous.  We  have 
no  evidence  of  their  mental  condition  nor  of  that  of  the  older 
brother  except  what  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  he  ran 
away  from  a  good  home,  where  his  foster  parents  were  prepared 
to  put  him  into  business  and  take  care  of  him.  The  children 
report  that  the  father  killed  the  mother,  but  there  is  no  evidence 
of  this,  other  than  their  report. 


m- 


6  ®- 


cjS)     e] 


CHART  306 


<N) 


InJ-Wn) 


3^^^;^^o"B-T^ 


N  CnKn 


CASE  306.  FRANKIE  S.  18  years  old.  Mentality  6.  Has  been  here 
5  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  whooping-cough  at 
the  age  of  four  years.  Father's  alcoholic  habits  supposed  to  be  the  cause. 
The  condition  is  said  to  be  congenital. 

Frankie  is  a  middle  grade  imbecile,  not  very  trainable ;  has 
spinal  curvature. 

The  mother's  family  seems  to  be  thoroly  normal.  The  father 
is  alcohoHc  and  insane,  but  when  not  alcoholic  is  an  agreeable, 


4i8 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


well-mannered,  well-bred  man.  He  is  said  to  be  brutal  and 
ill  treats  the  mother.  His  condition  would  generally  be  accepted 
as  the  cause  of  the  child's  defect,  but  whether  this  is  hereditary 
or  congenital  it  is  difficult  to  say. 


Q-rQ 


CHART  307 


In}- 


<N) 


|Nl(N)(N)[N][N](N)[j-p(^|i][N]lNl^^^^ 

«i  SEvdtAi.  7I4  ION  I         an 


£HRY9 


(n)(n)[n] 


CASE  307.  HENRY  S.  30  years  old.  Mentality  2.  Has  been  here 
15  years.  American  born,  of  Irish  parents.  Had  measles  and  whooping- 
cough.     Condition  is  said  to  be  congenital. 

Henry  is  low  grade,  altho  he  understands  a  command,  rec- 
ognizes color  and  is  fond  of  music.  He  is  slow  and  not 
very  trainable ;  he  has  probably  been  somewhat  brighter  than 
he  is  now,  because  he  has  been  able  to  braid  a  mat  with  three 
strands  and  do  some  housework,  while  now  he  is  only  able  to 
feed  himself. 

We  have  found  a  number  of  normal  people  in  this  family  and 
no  defectives,  altho  there  are  several  who  are  undetermined  and 
of  course  it  is  entirely  possible  that  a  defect  may  have  existed 
in  them.  An  aunt  of  Henry's  was  insane,  and  Henry's  father 
was  alcoholic  and  died  of  Bright's  disease.  Beyond  that  we 
have  nothing  to  point  to. 

The  other  members  of  this  family  are  mostly  well-to-do  re- 
spectable people  who  do  not  associate  much  with  their  humble 
relatives. 


CASE  305,  NANCY  L.,  AGE  25.  MENTALLY  7. 
CASE  307,  HENRY  S.,  AGE  30.  MENTALLY  2. 
CASE   309,    GEORGE    V.,    AGE    19.     MENTALLY   5. 


jE 


UNCLASSIFIED.     MENTALITY   5  419 

CHART    308 

D-r-O  D-[-6  5 

d.S8  <"88  *-••  *.83 

(i)(})[N]-WN)[N](N)[N][Nl    [g^QEEl 


lUTHANX 

CASE  308.  NATHAN  X.  19  years  old.  Mentality  8.  Has  been  here 
4  years.  American  born ;  father  German,  mother  English.  Had  measles 
at  the  age  of  four.     Nathan  was  a  seven  months  child. 

He  had  been  in  public  school  five  years  and  private  school 
three  years,  before  he  came  here.  He  knew  color  and  form,  could 
read  and  write,  add  and  subtract,  but  could  not  multiply  or 
divide. 

Here,  he  progressed  a  httle ;  was  able  to  read  in  the  Third 
Reader,  could  write  a  fair  hand ;  could  do  very  easy  problems 
in  the  four  fundamental  operations  in  arithmetic.  He  was, 
however,  a  poor  worker  and  an  unsatisfactory  boy  generally. 
He  tried  to  run  away  several  times  and  finally  succeeded. 

There  seems  to  be  nothing  in  the  family  history  to  adequately 
account  for  Nathan's  condition.  The  mother  had  diabetes  and 
a  cousin  of  hers  was  insane.  The  family  physician  believes  that 
the  father  is  syphilitic.  Nathan  is  now  in  the  Hospital  for  the 
Insane. 

CASE  309.  GEORGE  U.  19  years  old.  Mentahty  5.  Has  been  here 
9  years.  American  born,  of  German  parents.  Had  whooping-cough  at  the 
age  of  eight,  chicken-pox  the  same  year,  measles  at  nine.  Condition  is  said  to 
be  congenital. 

George  is  a  mischievous  looking  boy,  active  and  affectionate, 
forgetful,   good   tempered,   somewhat   destructive ;    very   dull. 


420 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


He  has  not  been  able  to  accomplish  anything  except  the  simplest 
kind  of  tasks  :  works  about  the  house,  runs  errands,  scrubs  floors, 
dusts ;  is  not  always  easy  to  manage. 

There  is  no  evidence  that  the  condition  is  hereditary  in  this 
family,  altho  it  is  possible.  We  have  not  been  able  to  determine 
the  condition  of  many  of  the  members. 

The  father  was  sexually  immoral,  deserted  his  family,  running 
away  with  another  woman.     The  mother  and  one  sister  had 


CHART  309 


□-T-0 


I5 


DISAPPEARED 


66  d  (N)  (N)  6 


•X"'"^ 


,  d.B  d.3 

k 


O 


cancer  ;  two  other  sisters  are  normal.  The  maternal  grandfather 
is  in  the  Old  Folks'  Home.  The  father  was  very  brutal  to  the 
wife  and  some  of  the  family  think  George  was  injured  before  he 
was  born ;    that,  however,  must  be  considered  doubtful. 


CASE  310.  ISAAC  C.  12  years  old.  Mentality  4.  Has  been  here  2 
years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Had  measles  at  the  age  of 
six.     Condition  said  to  be  congenital. 

Isaac  did  not  walk  until  four  years  of  age ;  his  hands  are 
slightly  deformed;  he  twitches  when  excited.  He  talked  at 
three  ;  cannot  dress  himself ;  knows  some  of  his  letters  but  can- 
not count.  Soon  after  admission  he  was  out  walking  when  he 
said  his  foot  was  asleep,  he  was  not  able  to  get  back  to  the  house 
without  help ;  since  then  he  has  had  spells  of  inabihty  to  walk ; 
he  is  not  very  trainable. 


UNCLASSIFIED.      MENTALITY   3 


421 


The  family  history  is  rather   strongly  negative.     An   older 
brother   is   normal,    the   parents   are  normal.      The    maternal 


CHART   310 


TEXAS  APOPLEXY  I 

a'i.inr. 


\h66\k-j4)(!^<b^\^6^\^6<!j) 


ISAAC  C. 

k 

grandfather  died  at   seventy-two  of  apoplexy.      Beyond    that 
there  is  little  indication  of  any  probable  cause. 


CHART    311 


D 


O 


CASE  311.  KIT  J.  10  years  old.  Mentality  3.  Has  been  here  2  years. 
American  born,  of  Italian  parents.  Had  scarlet  fever  at  the  age  of  two, 
measles  at  three ;    is  deaf  and  dumb. 

Kit  is  a  Httle  microcephalic  boy,  considered  deaf  and  dumb ; 
has  been  taught  to  say  a  few  words ;  is  strong  in  imitation ;  has 
been  taught  his  name  and  prints  it  without 
a  copy ;  knows  where  everything  in  the 
kindergarten  room  belongs,  and  can  get  it 
and  put  it  away.  He  seems  quite  train- 
able, whether  he  will  actually  improve  in 
mentahty  is  still  a  question. 

This  family  are  nearly  all  in  Italy,  the 
father  was  sent  back  there,  and  died  two 
days  after  his  arrival.  The  mother  is  a 
normal  woman  but  has  a  very  small  head. 
She  has   an  illegitimate   child   that  is  a 

httle  more  than  a  year  old,  and  appears  normal.  Of  course 
nothing  can  be  determined  as  yet  as  to  its  actual  mentahty. 
No  other  relatives  can  be  traced. 


<N) 


d 


k 


□-T-0      0 


42  2  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

CASE  312.  ISAAC  H.  22  years  old.  Mentality  9.  Has  been  here  12 
years.  American  born ;  father  German,  mother's  nationaHty  unknown. 
Had  measles  at  the  age  of  six. 

Isaac  is  a  high  grade  boy  who  came  here  at  the  age  of  ten,  and 
has   made    steady   improvement.     He    showed    rather   unusual 

ambition    for   a  feeble-minded    boy 

CHART   312  .  ■' 

r^  and  has  greatly  improved.     He  can 
^  read  ui  the  Fourth  Reader  and  write 

.  a  short  story  as  well  as  a  fairly  read- 

rn  rjri         •k     '  i  i  i  i  able    letter.      The    hand-writing   is 
5fv";Xlt,««y».  very  poor,  but  the  spelUng  and  form 

are  unusually  good. 

lai  fish  rtsi\  Isaac  was  usually  a  very  good  boy, 

'^V'^H-  and  within  the  Hmits  of  his  mental 

capacity,    quite    trustworthy.      He 

found  his  records  in  the  Report  Book  one  day,  and  not  liking  some 

of  the  things  that  were  said,  he  completely  destroyed  everything. 

On  one  occasion  when  we  were  short  of  an  attendant,  he  was 

given  the  privilege  of  having  some  charge  of  a  group,  under 

the  immediate  supervision  of  a  superior  officer ;   he  enjoyed  this 

very  much  and  assumed  a  good  deal  of  authority. 

The  following  letter  is  interesting  in  this  connection  and  also 
as  showing  his  ability  in  letter  writing : 

Mr.  Ferris 

I  would  like  to  stay  from  the  elec- 
trician this  morning  so  that  I  can  get  my  floor  in 
order  right  and  I  would  also  like  to  have  Gussie  G. 
stay  from  the  tailor  shop  because  I  am  going  to  have  the 
Domortory  waxed  and  I  would  like  to  keep 
Paul  D. 
Bryon  C. 

From  your  friend, 

As  sometimes  happens  with  boys  of  this  grade  and  type,  he 
became  somewhat  uneasy  in  the  Institution  and  finally  ran  away ; 


r^SKtB^^^^'hiM 

Ifc.-^  (^ 

9/ 

m 

^^^^^^ .            ■■^^m^ 

►^- 

CASE   313,   FRANK    C,    AGE   25.     MENTALLY   9. 


-V— ^ 


Drawn   by  FRANK   H.,    CASE   314. 


UNCLASSIFIED.     MENTALITY   8  423 

he  was  gone  sixteen  days  and  was  finally  found  in  jail.  He  came 
back  and  worked  steadily  and  well  for  some  time  then  he  planned 
to  run  away  again  but  was  detected.  He  had  two  suitcases  of 
stolen  clothes  and  a  trunk  full  of  valuable  tools.  So  strong  was 
this  desire  to  try  his  luck  out  in  the  world  that  he  was  finally 
paroled  to  his  father.  He  is  working  steadily  and  returns  each 
year  on  the  anniversary  of  his  parole  to  have  it  renewed.  Says  he 
is  ''Not  married.     Doesn't  care  about  girls." 

CASE  313.  FRANK  C.  25  years  old.  Mentality  9.  Has  been  here 
II  years.     Nationality  unknown.     Supposed  cause,  "  fall  soon  after  birth." 

Frank  has  had  the  usual  history  of  a  boy  of  his  mentality ; 
has  learned  to  read  and  write  and  count  to  a  certain  point  but 
seem.s  to  have  no  ambition  to  make  use  of  even  what  he  has  at- 
tained in  this  line.  He  is  more  interested  in  general 
work,  particularly  in  the  tailor  shop  but  will  do  any  1— 1^>^ 
kind  of  work  that  he  likes  to  do,  very  well  indeed,  hr  ^-^ 
can  run  the  electric  sewing  machine  and  the  button- 
hole machine.  /'^fal 

He  is  quiet,  rather  sober  but  obedient,  and  ap-       ^-^ 
parently  perfectly  contented  with  his  life  and  work.  I 

He  is  a  good  Institution  helper. 

He  is  a  Children's  Home  case  and  nothing  is  known  about  his 
family,  except  that  he  had  an  older  sister.  The  father  is  dead 
and  the  mother  was  unable  to  take  care  of  her  children. 

CASE  314.  FRANK  H.  19  years  old.  Mentality  8.  Has  been  here 
4  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Instruments  were  used  at 
birth.  Had  whooping-cough  at  six  years,  measles  at  twelve  years.  Assigned 
cause,  "  masturbation." 

This  case  is  an  interesting  one  because  Frank  came  on  the 
assumption  that  he  was  feeble-minded,  but  he  has  proved  to  be 
insane.  It  well  illustrates  the  difficulty  that  sometimes  is  met 
with  in  deciding  between  the  two. 

We  of  course  knew  very  quickly  that  there  was  insanity  present 


424 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


but,  on  the  basis  of  the  information,  we  thot  at  first  it  was  insanity 
grafted  on  to  primary  feeble-mindedness.  His  abiUty  in  drawing, 
specimens  of  w^hich  are  reproduced  opposite,  was  taken  to  illustrate 
one  of  those  remarkable  cases  usually  classified  under  the  head  of 
idiot  savant.  In  other  words,  we  thot  that  he  had  a  special  gift 
in  this  one  direction,  being  feeble-minded  in  all  other  ways. 
After  a  careful  study  of  his  previous  history  and  his  family 


[55 


CHART  314 


O 


NORnAL 

I 1 1                                                      FAMILY.  _ 

O   (3"®-rM-r-®  ® 

"i"^                           2NDWIFE            <!•             I        lo^^TTrc-  1STWIFI 


18T  WIFE 


i  (n)  (n)  [N]  [n]  [N]  (n)— H[n]    [n](n)(n) 

'""'     T  T  T  T 


YOUNG  CHILDREN.       Zt.inr. 


I  PROBABLY  I 

[n][n](n)  El  [N](g) 


history  we  conclude  that  Frank  is  a  clear  case  of  dementia  prae- 
cox,  and  while  he  is  now  in  a  mental  condition  that  approximates 
that  of  a  child  of  eight,  he  has  been  much  better.  He  has  been 
able  to  read,  write  and  do  arithmetic  far  beyond  anything  at- 
tained by  feeble-minded  children. 

He  has  at  times  been  very  strongly  rehgious ;  had  been  in 
public  school  seven  years  and  evidently  made  excellent  progress, 
but  at  present  he  is  working  in  the  dining  room  and  does  very 
well ;  does  not  mingle  much  w^ith  other  children.  There  is  no 
feeble-mindedness  in  the  family  but  undoubtedly  the  dementia 
praecox  could  be  accounted  for  if  we  went  deep  enough.  There 
are  some  indications  of  irregularities,  and  in  his  ancestry  there  is 
insanity. 


^ 

^ 

■rf*         '•■■■  - 

■^  ■-■ 

■M'^ 

::.    ■-^•y. 

^^^mt^-'^  ■       V- 

■     t. '•  : 

- 

Drawn  by  FRANK   H. 


"  Notra  Dame 
London  " 


"  Entrance  to 
a  Cemetary  " 


t t:»t*  a  "mr-Er      ttt  r^  a  c^t^      *%<  m 


UNCLASSIFIED.      MENTALITY   7  425 

CHART    315 


Q-rQ-rQ 


HEnBRANOUS  L. 
CROUP  W 

0£S6  El 


BABY 
STUTTERS 


CASE  315.  HOMER  O.  2^  years  old.  Mentality  9.  Has  been  here 
8  years.  American  born,  of  German  parents.  Had  whooping-cough  at 
four  years,  measles  at  six ;  has  dizzy  spells.     Condition  said  to  be  congenital. 

Homer  is  another  high  grade  boy  who  came  here  when  he  was 
fourteen  years  old.  He  had  been  in  public  school  seven  years 
and  could  read  in  the  First  Reader.  The  first  year  after  ad- 
mission he  could  not  write  a  single  letter  without  assistance ; 
was  doing  fairly  well  in  basketry.  He  improved  very  much 
in  reading  and  can  write  a  little.  He  makes  no  practical  use 
of  his  accompKshments,  however,  but  is  a  good  worker  in  the 
kitchen  and  laundry ;   he  has  chronic  rheumatism. 

There  is  nothing  satisfactory  to  account  for  Homer's  mental 
condition,  he  had  a  very  severe  case  of  whooping-cough  when 
small  and  several  times  was  thot  to  be  dying.  He  also  had 
a  fall  from  his  baby-carriage,  the  character  of  which  is  not  de- 
scribed. He  was  three  years  old  before  he  learned  to  say  words 
but  now  talks  fluently. 

CASE  316.  BENJAMIN  D.  21  years  old.  Mentality  7.  Has  been 
here  7  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Condition  said  to  be 
due  to  accident.  Child  had  cerebro-spinal  meningitis  at  the  age  of  six 
months.  Has  had  convulsions,  measles  at  six  years,  whooping-cough  at 
seven. 


426  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

Benjamin  is  somewhat  hydrocephalic;  is  weak  also  in  the 
ankle  joints,  possibly  a  case  of  congenital  ataxia.  When  he 
came  he  walked  on  crutches,  indeed  the  first  time  he  appeared  at 
the  Training  School  he  did  not  walk  at  all;  but  as  he  grew  older 
he  improved  somewhat  and  now  he  is  able  to  walk  without  even 
a  cane,  altho  it  is  with  considerable  difficulty.  He  is  fairly 
ambitious  both  to  control  his  muscular  system  and  to  learn  in 

school.     He  knows  his  letters,  counts 
CHART  316  ^^    to  a  hundred,  knows  colors ;   draws 


I— J    I    v-y        hA.  I    .S-f^    a  little,  helps  in  housework  a  little ; 

memory  is  good,  attention  fair;  he 
I — .  ^^  ^^       has  probably  reached   his   Kmit   of 

' — '  '        ^^  ^^       mental  improvement  but  may  still 

gain  in  his  physical  condition. 
The  family  chart  leaves  much  to 
**  .  be  desired  inasmuch  as  it  has  been 

I  impossible  to  get  any  record  of  the 

BENJAMIN  O 

father  except  that  he  was  alluded  to 
as  a  degenerate.  The  mother  and  her  sister  are  said  to  be 
normal.  Of  the  grandparents  nothing  could  be  learned  except 
their  age  at  death.  Of  course  the  hydrocephalus  itself  could 
cause  the  defect  while  the  ataxia  may  be  connected  with  the 
father's  degeneracy.  It  is  equally  true  that  the  father  may 
have  been  mentally  defective  as  well  as  degenerate,  so  that  the 
case  must  stand  as  inconclusive. 


CASE  317.  LUCY  O.  38  years  old.  Mentality  7.  Has  been  here  25 
years.  American  born,  of  German  parents.  Condition  supposed  to  be 
due  to  convulsions  which  she  had  at  seven  months.  Had  whooping-cough, 
measles,  scarlet  fever ;  congestion  of  the  brain  at  seven  years,  inflammation 
of  the  lungs. 

Lucy  was  13  when  she  came  to  the  Training  School,  talked  as 
if  tongue-tied ;  was  obstinate  and  thieving,  careless  in  dress, 
could  do  a  little  housework. 


"  study  of  a  child.     Samuel  here  I  am  for  I  was  called." 
Drawn   by   FRANK   H.,    CASE   314.   AGE   19.     MENTALLY   8. 


UNCLASSIFIED.     MENTALITY  7 


427 


Lucy  came  in  those  early  days  when  we  knew  no  better  than 
to  attempt  much  more  ambitious  things  than  we  do  now;  for 
instance,  two  years  after  admission  it  is  recorded  that  she  ''has 
learned  to  spell  and  write  words  of  five  letters,  does  a  little  geog- 
raphy and  history  but  becomes  confused  if  given  much  at  a 
lesson";  two  years  later  was  writing  small  letters,  with  copy, 
very  neatly,  made  patchwork  and  could  hem.  During  the  next 
year  she  could  read  forty  pages  in  the  beginner's  Reader,  could 


CHART    317 


4  60VRS 


D 


O 


Qn-(N)|Nl  •J^(N)(^(N)|Nl<i 

IN  4  a         2N  3  4         U 


N)(N 


write  fifteen  small  letters  without  copies ;  was  one  entire  week 
learning  the  small  letter  ''k";  four  years  later  it  is  recorded, 
''makes  no  school  progress  but  does  very  good  cottage  work." 
To-day  she  is  a  cottage  helper  and  very  useful  with  small  chil- 
dren, having  considerable  ability  in  instructing  and  interesting 
them  in  play  with  dishes,  etc.  even  displays  quite  a  bit  of  judg- 
ment in  their  management,  is  cheerful,  affectionate  and  wilHng, 
sometimes  quarrelsome  and  stubborn,  but  generally  obedient, 
quick  and  excitable. 

The  family  history  shows  several  normal  people,  one  case 
of  insanity  and  a  number  of  deaths  in  infancy.  But  one  can 
hardly  say  that  it  is  even  probable  that  this  is  a  case  of  heredi- 
tary feeble-mindedness.     All  of  Lucy's  known  sibs  are  normal. 


428 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


Of  the  father's  family  we  know  very  Httle  but  we  know  of  no 
defect.  The  mother  is  a  normal  woman,  several  of  her  sibs  died 
in  infancy  and  one  brother  was  abnormal,  but  this  is  accounted 
for  by  the  possibility  that  it  was  inore  probably  insanity  than 
f eeble-mindedness ;  the  mother  called  it  ''hysteria." 


(5®5^ 


iM  ^SSSiSSl  (5S®S^ 


(N) 

CASE  318.  EVA  M.  II  years  old.  Mentality  6.  Has  been  here  5 
years.  American  born,  of  Russian  parents.  Had  measles  at  the  age  of  one 
year,  has  had  cerebral  paralysis.     Condition  probably  due  to  accident. 

Eva  is  a  cheerful,  affectionate  little  girl,  quiet  and  obedient, 
very  wilHng,  tries,  and  is  making  considerable  progress.  Talks 
indistinctly ;  plays  a  little,  can  help  make  beds ;  dusts ;  sews  on 
buttons ;  helps  with  the  smaller  children. 

This  child  has  been  treated  with  pineal  gland  extract  and 
seemed  to  gain.     Experiment  is  to  be  continued  later. 

Eva's  head  is  quite  large.  She  had  convulsions  at  birth,  and 
the  defect  showed  at  three  months.  No  reason  is  known  for  the 
defect;  the  family  history  does  not  seem  to  give  any  indica- 
tions. The  mother's  condition  is  indeed  undetermined  but  she 
appears  normal. 


CASE  319.  IRA  O.  14  years  old.  Mentality  6.  Has  been  here  5 
years,  American  born,  of  American  parents.  This  was  a  case  of  instru- 
mental delivery.     The  condition  is  said  to  have  been  congenital. 


CASE  318,  EVA    M.,    AGE    11. 

CASE  327,  NORA    C,    AGE   20. 

CASE  319,  IRA    O.,    AGE    14. 

CASE  321,  FANNIE    T.,    AGE    53. 


MENTALLY   6.      (top  left) 
MENTALLY    1.     (top  right) 
MENTALLY    6. 
MENTALLY    7. 


UNCLASSIFIED.     MENTALITY  6 


429 


T 

o 


CHART  319 


1ST  HUSBAND 


o 


1^ 

IKAO. 

k 


Ira  is  a  middle  grade  child,  very  slow  of  speech  and  has  a  slight 
stutter,  but  gave  much  hope  of  improvement  when  first  ad- 
mitted. At  that  time  he  did  not  know  his  alphabet,  knew  black, 
white  and  gray.  Could  not  do  an  errand,  could  throw  a  ball 
but  not  catch  one.  In  19 10  his  teacher  wrote  "it  has  taken  a 
long  time  for  him  to  learn  but  he 
has  at  last  learned  to  iron  an 
apron."  Another  teacher  writes 
"he  does  not  know  more  than 
two  words.  I  have  had  him  in 
Enghsh  for  over  two  years  but 
there  is  no  improvement  whatever 
and  at  times  he  is  rather  troublesome  and  stubborn.  Can 
count  to  fifteen  and  can  write  some  from  copy.  He  does  not 
show  the  evidence  of  improvement  in  Enghsh  that  I  thought 
he  was  going  to." 

And  so  he  settles  down  to  being  "a  useful  httle  boy  in  a  gen- 
eral way." 

Ira's  family  could  not  be  traced  at  all.  Some  neighbors 
finally  told  us  that  his  father  died  of  tuberculosis.  Everything 
else  is  blank. 

CHART   320 

(n)(n)(n)In][nI[nI— ]--(N)[t]|Nl(Jc3 


1ST  WIFE  2N0  WIFE  I 

BENJAMIN  a 

1  [n][n](n)(n)[n]  (S  iS® 

CASE  320.     BENJAMIN   Q.     68  years  old.     Mentality  6.     Has  been 
here  22  years.     Nothing  is  known  of  Benjamin's  nationality. 

He  is  an  illustration  of  the  possible  longevity  of  feeble-minded 
persons.     He  talks  a  good  deal  but  very  indistinctly ;  can  hardly 


430 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


be  understood  except  by  those  who  know  him  well.  Dresses 
and  undresses  himself;  washes;  is  cheerful,  cranky,  obedient, 
willing  and  tries,  very  excitable  and  sensitive.  Gets  along  well 
with  the  children,  needs  no  supervision  over  the  simple  tasks  that 
he  can  do.  Works  at  the  cow-barn  all  day ;  is  fond  of  animals, 
especially  the  pigs. 

There  is  no  proof  of  heredity  in  this  case.  The  father's 
family  appears  entirely  normal,  the  mother's  also  except  for 
a  sister  who  is  insane.  A  brother  of  Benjamin  had  a 
feeble-minded  child,  a  case  of  acromegaly,  but  since  we  do 
not  know  the  character  of  the  wife  we  cannot  infer  anything 
from  this. 

Benjamin  gave  a  positive  Wassermann  reaction. 


CHART   321 


D 


O 


0  O—fN] — o  66ti6-rO 

i»T  WIFE  2N0  WIFE  J^        ^-SB  ''-  4. 


12  II  CHILDREN 
SCATTERED  ALL 
OVER  COUNTRY, 


D 


O 


}■_  FANNIE  T. 

k 


CASE  321.  FANNIE  T.  53  years  old.  Mentality  7.  Has  been  here 
21  years.  Assigned  cause  of  the  condition,  "  hit  in  the  head  by  a  stone 
thrown  at  her." 

Fannie  came  here  from  another  Institution  for  the  feeble- 
minded and  has  never  been  able  to  take  very  much  training. 
She  can  help  sort  clothes  in  the  laundry  and  is  good  about  the 
house,  in  the  dormitory  and  kitchen;    is  neat  and  clean. 

There  are  some  good  reasons  for  thinking  this  is  a  defective 
family,  but  we  have  not  been  able  to  verify  anything. 


UNCLASSIFIED.     MENTALITY  4 


431 


CASE  322.  NATHAN  I.  19  years  old.  Mentality  4.  Has  been  here 
6  years.  American  born,  of  German  parents.  Condition  is  said  to  be  con- 
genital. 


CHART   322 


if 


O       D 


■Q 


■<N) 


Nathan  is  a  jolly,  good-natured  __ 
fellow,    understands    a    command  Tob 
and    is  fairly  obedient;    attended 
school  some ;    cannot  count ;   does 
not  know  letters ;  has  fair  memory 
has  been  given  a  fair  trial  in  school 
and  is  not  able  to  do  anything; 
can  dust,  sweep  and  do  fairly  good 
housework  of  the  simpler  kinds. 

It  has  been  impossible  to  trace  this  family  far  enough  to  deter- 
mine any  possible  cause  for  the  condition. 


^"^        T^       ^"^  NATHAN   L 


CASE  323.  WINNIE  D.  25  years  old.  Mejitality  4.  Has  been  here 
17  years.  Polish,  of  Pohsh  parents.  The  child  was  born  in  Poland,  has 
had  measles  and  whooping-cough ;  is  said  to  have  had  spasms  and  been 
paralyzed  some  months.     The  latter  seizure  was  only  slight,  however. 

Winnie  is  a  dull  phlegmatic  girl,  of  low  grade,  has  made  but 
Httle  improvement  since  coming  here,  possibly  some  in  her  dis- 
position;    does  not  destroy  her  clothing  as  much  as  formerly; 

can  dress    and    undress   herself 


CHART    323 


D 


o 


<§'5OT 


and  do  a  little  in  the  care  of 
other  children,  otherwise  she  is 
not  very  trainable. 

Winnie  is  one  of  fourteen  chil- 
dren, many  of  whom  died  young. 
An  older  sister  is  normal ;  three 
older  brothers  and  a  sister  have 
married  and  have  children  but 
the  condition  of  these  could  not 
be  determined.  The  mother  understands  and  speaks  very  httle 
EngHsh.     She  could  not  remember  anything  about  her  children 


N 


1^  I      Lyoui 

riNNIE  D.  4  S  VRS. 


432 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


who  had  died.      Winnie's  grandmother  is  in  an  almshouse  in 
Poland. 


CHART    324 


D 


O 


D 


□  0— r-(§~5~5 


Q 


(i.iti(N)iN](^(^[N]^[Ni    (§o£i  \k^\k 


CASE  324.  HATTIE  C.  23  years  old.  Mentality  3.  Has  been  here 
1 5  years.  Was  born  in  Russia,  of  Russian  parents.  Has  had  measles  and 
whooping-cough.     Labor  was  normal  and  birth  natural. 

Hattie  is  untrainable,  cares  for  herself,  but  does  nothing  else. 
Nothing  can  be  found  to  account  for  her  condition;  at  least 
seven  younger  children  are  normal.  The  parents  are  normal 
but  we  know  nothing  of  the  grandparents  and  there  might  be 
a  recessive  condition  here.  But  so  far  as  our  data  go,  we  can- 
not classify  it  as  an  hereditary  case. 

Hattie's  parents  immigrated  to  this  country  when  she  was 
about  three  years  of  age ;  whether  her  condition  should  have 
been  detected  at  that  time,  it  is  a  Httle  difficult  to  say;  she  is 
so  very  low  grade  now  that  it  would  seem  as  tho  she  must  have 
shown  it  even  at  that  age,  but  one  cannot  be  sure. 


CASE  325.  GERALD  M.  19  years  old.  Mentality  3.  Has  been  here 
2  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Has  had  measles ;  had  con- 
vulsions when  teething.     Supposed  cause,  "  fall  from  baby  carriage." 

Gerald  is  not  a  bad  looking  boy  but  is  quite  low  grade.  He 
commenced  to  walk  at  the  age  of  two  and  to  talk  at  seven.  He 
cannot  do  any  work  in  number,  reading  or  writing ;  can  do  an 
errand,  rubs  floors  and  dusts,  under  direction;    can  dress  and 


CASE  323,  WINNIE  D.,  AGE  25. 
CASE  324,  HATTIE  C,  AGE  23. 
CASE   326,    MARK    C,    AGE   30. 


MENTALLY  4. 
MENTALLY  3. 
MENTALLY   2. 


UNCLASSIFIED.     MENTALITY   2 


433 


undress  himself ;    is  obstinate  and   stubborn ;    inclined   to  be 
thieving;    quick   tempered  and  destructive. 

The  family  chart  does  not  give  us  any  clue  to  the  cause  of  his 
condition.     All    the   individuals   that   can   be   determined   are 


CHART  325 


d- 


o 


[51l-r^5^ 


(t)  (^  ti]  ^  l£]^6,C]-p(N)  6  (N)(J)(N)(^(N)6 


m  iS®S] 


IB 

GOITRE 


k 


normal,  and  those  that  are  undetermined  do  not  seem  likely  to 
have  been  feeble-minded.  On  the  other  hand  the  fall  from  the 
baby  carriage  seems  hardly  likely  to  have  been  the  cause.  The 
case  is  classified  as  undetermined. 


CHART  326 


D 


<? 


D 


<5 


(55Sp5ii-j-(§S5S®3S5SSK^N] 

j  I  I        CANCExl  MANIC-  I 

•  *        JUAJ^.™  DEPRESSIVE  J 

CHILDREN  4TH  ATTACIt 


.Lli(N)Ci)(c)(N)(N)         ^SSSS®S) 


CASE  326.     MARK  C.     30  years  old.     Mentality   2.     Has  been  here 
22  years.     American  born;  father  German,  mother  American.     Condition 
said  to  be  congenital. 
2  F 


434 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


Mark  is  a  low  grade  case  completely  untrained  and  untrain- 
able.  The  family  seems  to  be  quite  normal  altho  there  is  more 
or  less  physical  disease.  However,  there  are  no  conditions  rec- 
ognized as  the  cause  of  Mark's  condition. 


Q-tQ 


CHART    327 


Q 


O 


vous 

EXCITABLE 
6  SONS. 


[S'fi'Sna^       (n)    (n)(n)(N) 

NORAC.  deucate       ^*^        ^^  ^-^   ^^ 


k 

CASE  327.  NORA  C.  20  years  old.  Mentality  i.  Has  been  here 
14  years.  American  born,  of  American  parents.  Condition  said  to  be  con- 
genital.    Child  had  whooping-cough  at  one  year  and  measles  at  three. 

Nora  is  a  low  grade  case.  When  admitted  at  the  age  of  six 
walked  very  poorly,  could  not  care  for  herself ;  said  only  a  few 
words ;  would  play  with  a  doll  a  little ;  improved  somewhat  in 
the  course  of  a  year ;  learned  to  string  beads ;  later  on  could  say 
a  few  sentences,  but  was  very  restless.  It  is  reported  by  some  of 
the  attendants  that  she  never  sleeps;  eats  garbage;  does  not 
understand  command. 

The  family  history  leaves  us  much  in  dotibt  as  to  the  probable 
cause  of  Nora's  condition.  There  is  some  suspicion  that  the 
older  sister  is  also  defective  but  this  is  not  clear.  The  same  may 
be  said  of  the  maternal  uncle  who  died  of  tumor  on  the  brain. 
In  the  absence  of  more  conclusive  data  we  are  compelled  to  leave 
this  case  unsettled. 


CHAPTER   IV 
CAUSES 

The  scientist  knows  that  the  discovery  of  a  true  relation  of 
cause  and  effect  among  the  phenomena  of  nature  is  science  itself. 
In  the  popular  mind  it  is  easy  to  estabhsh  this  relation,  for  any 
phenomenon  which  usually  precedes  another  is  Hkely  to  be 
considered  its  cause.  As  a  matter  of  fact  any  phenomenon  which 
always  accompanies  another  may  be  a  cause  or  it  may  be  an 
effect,  but  the  progress  of  science  has  often  shown  that  two 
things  popularly  supposed  to  stand  in  causal  relation  to  each 
other  were  entirely  independent,  the  one  of  the  other ;  or  at  other 
times,  the  one  which  was  considered  the  cause  proves  to  be  the 
effect.  It  is  only  necessary  to  say  here  that  feeble-mindedness  is 
no  exception  to  this  rule,  and  many  things  are  considered  as 
causes  which  probably  stand  in  no  such  relation. 

Even  in  would-be-scientific  reports  this  error  is  often  found. 
Many  a  percentage  is  quoted  for  this  or  that  "cause"  of  feeble- 
mindedness, which  has  no  better  basis  than  the  fact  that  in  such 
a  percentage  of  the  inmates  of  some  Institution  a  certain  condi- 
tion has  appeared  in  the  family  histories.  It  is  therefore  assumed 
that  this  is  the  cause  in  these  cases.  For  example,  in  Hack 
Tuke's  Table  we  find  the  following:  "Causes  acting  before 
birth:  phthisis  24%;  insanity  15%;  imbecihty  4%;  epilepsy 
3  % ;  intemperance  13  % ;  syphihs  i  % ;  consanguinity  5  %, " 
etc.  These  percentages  are  based  on  the  fact  that  these  condi- 
tions were  found  in  the  parents  in  a  certain  number  of  cases. 
Out  of  1 200  cases  in  the  Royal  Albert  Asylum  phthisis4s  men- 
tioned in  291  families,  or  24  %  as  above  given,  but  there  is  no 

435 


43  6  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

evidence  that  the  phthisis  present  in  the  families  was  the  cause  of 
the  feeble-mindedness  of  the  children. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  causes  given  by  parents  and  too  often 
accepted  uncritically,  we  give  the  following  list  of  assigned  causes. 

The  full  significance  and  frequently  the  absurdity  will  be 
appreciated  by  turning  to  the  family  charts.  These  will  be  found 
so  dotted  with  the  black  symbols  that  to  assign  any  other  cause 
than  heredity  is  ridiculous. 

Hereditary  Cases 

Causes  Assigned  by  Parents  or  Physicians  Actual  Cause 

24  Cases  No  Cause  assigned    .     .     .  ' Heredity 

a     Up          •-  *f),  [  In  most  cases  "aggravated  or  in- 
4        u      u-ri      j-^    5)     ]       creased  by  neglect  and  squalid 
^                              -^        [      surroundings." 
2      "      Consanguinity  of  parents 

4  "      Parent's  intemperance 

2      "      Instruments  at  birth 

I      "      Long  labor 

I      "      Premature  birth 

1  "  Deficient  animation  at  birth 

7  "  Neglect  and  abuse 

2  "  Medicine  during  early  years 

3  "  Malnutrition " 

7  "  "  Acute  sickness " 

3  "  "  Fits  and  spasms  "  under  2  years 

3  "  Convulsions  from  teething 

2  "  Diphtheria 

1  "  Scarlet  fever 

2  "  Whooping-cough 

5  "  Meningitis " 

I  "  Acute  indigestion 

I  "  Protracted  diarrhoea        

1  "  Abscess  in  throat  —  3  years 

2  "  Paralysis " 

I  "  Lesion  of  brain,  tumor 

1  "  Fall  out  of  bed 

2  "  Fall  out  of  baby  carriage —  14  months   .... 
2  —  5  months    .... 

I  "  Fall  in  yard — 2  years 

I  "  Fall  to  floor  —  4  days 


CAUSES  437 

Causes  Assigned  by  Parents  or  Physicians  Actual  Cause 

4  Cases  Fall  when  a  baby Heredity 

I      "      Struck  by  train " 

I  "  Struck  by  baseball  —  6  years " 

I  "  Struck  on  head " 

1  "  Serious  fall  of  the  mother " 

2  "  Sickness  prior  to  birth " 

5  "  Shocks  and  distress  during  pregnancy     ....  " 

I  "  Mother  frightened  by  a  horse " 

I  "  Mother  shocked  by  sight  of  woman  with  hare-lip  " 

I  "  Careless  handling  by  nurse  during  first  week   .     . 

I      *'      Result  of  nourishment  (condensed  milk)      ...  " 

I      "      Frightened  by  dull  nippers  of  barber  at  first  hair  cut 
I      "      Perhaps  from  bite  of  spider  poisoning  the  blood  . 
Total —  173  cases.     There  are  9  cases  of  2  in  a  family. 

Without  going  further  into  this  matter  we  proceed  to  consider  the 
facts  brot  out  by  the  study  of  our  327  family  histories.  Twenty- 
seven  of  these  have  been  thrown  out  of  this  consideration  of  causes 
because  of  insufficient  data.  One  hundred  sixty-four  or  54%  of 
the  remaining  300  histories  show  other  feeble-minded  persons  in 
such  numbers  or  in  such  relation  to  the  individual  case  studied  as 
to  leave  no  doubt  of  the  hereditary  character  of  the  mental  defect. 
In  these  cases  it  is  evident  from  the  charts  themselves  that  we  are 
deahng  with  a  condition  of  mind  or  brain  which  is  transmitted 
as  regularly  and  surely  as  color  of  hair  or  eyes.  Thirty-four 
cases,  1 1.3  %,  have  been  grouped  under  the  head  of  Probably 
Hereditary.  The  charts  of  these,  while  not  showing  so  cer- 
tainly as  in  the  former  group  the  hereditary  nature  of  the 
trouble,  yet  have  a  high  degree  of  probabiHty  and  may  be 
considered  hereditary. 

The  term  Neuropathic  Ancestry  has  been  used  to  explain  the 
condition  of  37  children,  12  %,  whose  family  histories  show 
relatives  suffering  from  various  brain  affections,  such  as 
paralysis,  apoplexy,  "  brain  disease "  and  the  hke,  epilepsy, 
insanity  (so  described),  blindness,  deafness,  and  other  neurotic 
conditions. 

Fifty-seven  cases,  19  %,  have  been  "accidental"  cases.     Ac- 


438  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

cidental  as  here  used  includes  every  unforeseen  event  which  is 
recognized  as  probably  an  adequate  cause. 

In  the  8  remaining  histories,  2.6  %  of  the  total  number,  there 
has  been  found  nothing  to  account  for  the  conditions;  these 
are  for  the  most  part  from  intelligent  families  who  have  ap- 
parently given  us  every  possible  help  to  discover  a  reasonable 
cause. 

HEREDITARY  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

In  this  group  there  are  164  family  histories  in  which  either 
there  are  so  many  feeble-minded  individuals  or  the  feeble-minded- 
ness  occurs  in  such  relation  to  the  case  that  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  the  condition  is  inherited.  To  attempt  to  account  for  it 
in  any  other  way  would  necessitate  too  many  assumptions. 

The  reader  will  doubtless  question  the  classification  of  certain 
of  these  if  he  is  unfamiHar  with  the  problem.  There  are  a  num- 
ber of  charts  where  the  feeble-mindedness  does  not  show  con- 
tinuously in  the  direct  Hne ;  that  is,  it  is  not  a  case  of  child, 
parent,  grandparent,  all  feeble-minded.  After  reading  the 
chapter  on  the  law  of  transmission  of  feeble-mindedness,  it  will 
be  seen  that  there  is  no  case  included  in  this  group  where  it  is 
not  vastly  more  probable  that  the  condition' is  hereditary  than 
that  anything  else  is  the  cause. 

A  study  of  these  charts  shows  that  a  mental  defect  or  a  low 
degree  of  intelligence  is  a  characteristic  of  some  human  stocks, 
and  that  that  condition  is  transmitted  as  truly  and  accurately 
as  color  of  hair,  stature  or  any  other  character  which  is  known  to 
be  hereditary.  This  level  of  intelHgence  is  such  that  the  posses- 
sor cannot  compete  with  others  in  the  struggle  for  existence,  or 
cannot  manage  his  own  affairs  with  ordinary  prudence.  That 
is,  he  needs  the  care  and  guidance  of  some  one  more  intelligent 
than  he.  When  this  condition  exists,  as  it  often  does,  in  an 
otherwise  healthy  family,  we  call  it  pure  feeble-mindedness. 

There  seems  to  be  no  reason  why  the  people  of  this  grade  of 


CAUSES  439 

intelligence  should  not  be  the  victims  of  all  the  diseases  and  acci- 
dents that  attack  our  common  humanity ;  nor  is  there  any  evi- 
dence that  they  are  not  thus  attacked.  The  result  is  that  many 
of  these  charts  show  the  same  sprinkHng  of  disease  and  accident 
that  is  found  on  charts  in  the  other  groups  where  the  feeble- 
mindedness is  not  hereditary  or  that  would  be  found  in  many 
normal  families.  These  are  cases  of  hereditary  feeble-minded- 
ness  plus  disease,  accident,  etc. 

In  some  of  these  families  there  may  be  doubt  as  to  what  is 
the  active  cause  of  the  condition  in  a  particular  individual  on 
the  chart,  —  even  the  child  in  the  Training  School  with  whom 
our  studies  began. 

To  illustrate  the  point,  suppose  a  child  on  one  of  these  charts 
where  it  is  clearly  a  case  of  hereditary  feeble-mindedness  also 
had  meningitis  in  infancy  so  early  that  the  defect  was  not  noticed 
before  the  disease.  Now  the  question  arises  —  how  do  we  know 
that  his  condition  is  due  to  the  family  trait  and  not  to  the  menin- 
gitis ?  We  do  not  know,  nor  does  it  matter  in  most  cases  so  far 
as  the  classification  of  the  family  is  concerned.  That  individual 
might  be  marked  normal  and  it  would  not  change  the  fact  that 
it  is  a  family  in  which  there  is  hereditary  feeble-mindedness. 

PROBABLY  HEREDITARY 

This  group  contains  34  cases,  numbers  165  to  198.  See 
pages  280  to  317.  In  these  cases  we  cannot  be  certain  of  the 
hereditary  nature  of  the  feeble-mindedness.  In  some  we  have 
been  unable  to  get  facts  sufficient  to  mark  the  doubtful  indi- 
viduals, in  others  the  condition  of  feeble-mindedness  is  so  reces- 
sive that  it  shows  in  only  a  few  individuals.  These  cases  however, 
contain  for  the  most  part  two  or  three  known  feeble-minded 
persons.  This  fact,  together  with  other  considerations,  including 
the  type  of  the  child,  produces  altogether  a  very  high  degree  of 
probabihty  that  they  are  hereditary.  Here  as  elsewhere  we  have 
tried  to  maintain  a  conservative  attitude. 


440 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


Probably  many  a  reader  will  feel  that  a  number  of  these  cases 
together  with  a  number  of  cases  now  classified  in  the  Neuropathic 
and  Accident  Groups  should  go  in  the  Hereditary  Group.  There 
is  much  to  be  said  for  such  a  classification  but  we  have  felt  that 
in  a  study  such  as  this,  where  it  is  manifestly  impossible  to 
estabhsh  with  mathematical  certainty  the  proportion  of  the 
feeble-minded  that  are  caused  by  heredity,  it  was  wisest  to  take 
a  position  which  would  give  us  with  a  high  degree  of  probabihty 
their  lowest  Hmit,  so  that  it  will  be  possible  to  say  —  there  are 
at  least  so  many. 


MENTAL  AGE  IN  RELATION  TO  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

The    following  statement  shows  the  distribution  of  mental 
ages  in  the  fundamental  groups. 


Mental  Age 

I        2 

3 

4       S      6      7 

8      9     10      II 

12 

Total 

No.  Hereditary  Cases 
No.  Probably  H.  Cases 
No.  Neuropathic  Cases 
No.  Accident  Cases 
No.  No  Cause  Cases 
No.  Unclassified  Cases 

8   24 

0  4 
2   10 
6     9 

1  5 
I     2 

14 
5 
5 
9 

I 

4 

9     8   25   29 

4414 
0365 

10     4     3     4 
0000 

2154 

27    12     12       5 

10       2       I       0 

3       I       I       I 

3431 
1000 
6200 

0 
0 
0 

I 
0 
0 

173 
35 
37 
57 

8 

27 

18   54 

72 
Idiots 

38 

25   20  40  46 

169 
Imbeciles 

50    21     17       7 

I 

337 

96 

IMorons 

Early  in  this  study  we  were  impressed  by  the  fact  that  the 
low  grade  children  were  more  often  children  of  good  parentage, 
than  were  the  high  grade  children. 

Grouping  the  figures  of  the  preceding  table  into  Hereditary 
and  Non-hereditary  (omitting  Unclassified)  and  reducing  to 
percentages  we  get  the  following  table.  The  facts  are  shown 
graphically  by  the  accompanying  curve. 


THE  INHERITABILITY  OF  MENTAL  AGE 


441 


Mental  Age 

I 
17 

2 
52 

3 

34 

4 
23 

5 

19 

6 

35 

7 
42 

8 

44 

9 

19 

10 

17 

II 

Total  Cases     .... 

7 

Hereditary 

Cases 

i  % 

8 
47-0 

28 
53.8 

19 

55-8 

13 
56.5 

12 

63.1 

26 

74.2 

33 
78.5 

37 
84.1 

14 

73-7 

5 
26.2 

13 
76.3 

4 
23.6 

5 
71.4 

Non-hereditary  1  ^^^^^ 

I    /o 

9 
53 -o 

24 
46.1 

15 
44.1 

10 

43-4 

7 
36.9 

9 
25.8 

9 

21.5 

7 
15-9 

2 
28.6 

Explanation  of  Diagram 

In  hereditary  feeble-mindedness  the  children  tend  to  have 
about  the  same  grade  of  raentality_a.s__thej)arents,  consequently 
a  large  proportion  of  the  children  have  a  mentality  of  from  seven 
to  ten.  Since  idiots  do  not  marry,  the  fact  that  50%  of  the  idiots 
are  in  the  Hereditary  Group  is  perhaps  due  in  part  to  exceptions 
to  the  rule,  and  more  largely  to  those  who  have  had  some  accident 
in  addition  to  the  hereditary  factor ;  that  is,  they  should  have 
been  morons  or  high  grade  imbeciles  but  accidents  at,  before, 
or  after,  birth  reduced  them  to  idiocy.  We  have  found  some 
cases  where  it  is  clear  that  this  is  what  has  happened.  Feeble- 
minded persons  of  mentality  under  five  rarely  become  parents; 
at  five  there  are  some,  at  six  there  are  more,  and  at  seven  and  eight 
it  is  conunon.  The  curve  of  hereditary  feeble-mindedness  reaches 
its  maximum  at  eight  to  twelve.  Such  a  curve  representing  facts 
so  consistent  with  other  known  facts,  is  strong  corroborating 
evidence  of  the  correctness  of  the  general  point  of  view. 

Our  numbers  for  nine,  ten  and  eleven  are  unfortunately  small, 
which  may  account  for  the  drop  in  the  curve  at  those  ages.  It  is 
also  possible  that  we  have  made  a  wrong  classification  and  have 
put  too  many  into  the  neuropathic  and  accident  groups.  With 
a  view  to  seeing  how  possible  this  might  be,  we  have  reviewed 
these  two  non-hereditary  groups  with  the  following  result  which 
the  reader  can  verify  for  himself. 


442 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


1         2  3         4  5         6         7         8         9         10        11        Years 

(mental  age) 


90 
80 
70 
60 
50 
40 
30 

20 
10 
0 

/ 

*•-.. 

.-'-' 

/ 

/ 

/ 

\ 

/ 

\ 

/ 

/ 

/ 

^^^^^ 

/ 

/ 

/ 

\, 

/ 

^^ 

,y 

^, 

^ 

K 

s 

\ 

/ 

^^ 

^ 

^s 

\ 

Diagram  showing  relation  of  hereditary  feeble-mindedness  to  mental  age. 
Ordinates  are  percentages.     Abscissas  are  mental  ages. 


THE  INHERITABILITY  OF  MORONITY  443 

We  find  Cases  279,  237  and  239  are  doubtful  and  some  of 
them  have  quite  a  degree  of  probabihty  that  they  may  have 
been  hereditary.  If  we  assume  that  two  out  of  these  three 
ought  to  have  been  put  in  the  hereditary  group  we  bring  our 
curve  up  to  84  %  for  the  nine  year  group. 

Of  the  ten  year  olds  there  is  only  one  case  that  might  be  wrongly 
classified,  that  is  No.  277.  This  is  said  to  be  a  meningitis  case 
but  the  evidence  is  not  complete. 

At  age  eleven,  No.  236  is  also  a  doubtful  case. 

If  we  transfer  these  cases  to  the  Hereditary  Group,  our  curve 
follows  the  dotted  line.    This  is  certainly  a  very  significant  result. 

If  the  suggested  change  were  to  be  allowed  it  would  give  us 
a  new  figure  for  the  heritabiHty  of  morons,  namely  about  85  %. 
It  is  probable  that  a  larger  number  of  cases  would  establish  this. 

In  age  twelve  there  happens  to  be  only  one  in  our  entire  group 
of  cases,  and  of  course  there  is  no  conclusion  to  be  drawn. 

This  curve  would  seem  to  be  further  proof  of  the  general 
accuracy  of  our  classification. 

The  curve  at  the  bottom  of  the  chart  is  that  of  the  cases  that 
had  to  be  thrown  out  for  lack  of  data  sufficient  to  classify  them. 
It  merely  shows  in  contrast  to  the  other  that  there  is  no  law  run- 
ning thru  this  group  of  cases. 

NEUROPATHIC  ANCESTRY 

This  group  numbers  37  charts.     See  pages  318  to  350. 

These  cases  range  in  intelligence  from  one  to  eleven.  They 
have  generally  been  placed  in  this  group  either  because  the  his- 
tory of  the  case  gives  as  an  assigned  cause  some  neuropathic 
condition  of  parents  or  grandparents;  or  because  the  chart  it- 
self shows  a  number  of  individuals  in  the  family,  more  or  less  in 
the  direct  fine,  who  suffered  from  diseases  which  it  is  reasonable 
to  beheve  may  have  had  some  effect  upon  the  metabolism  of  the 
offspring,  altho  they  may  not  have  aft'ected  the  germ  cells  of  the 
parents. 


444  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  many  conditions  that  appear 
on  these  charts  are  not  to  be  considered  as  causal  in  themselves 
but  simply  as  symptoms  of  a  neuropathic  taint.  Just  what  was 
the  essential  factor  in  that  condition  it  may  be  impossible  to 
determine  at  this  stage  of  the  study.  For  example,  on  Chart  235 
we  have  two  cases  of  suicide,  both  probably  due  to  insanity, 
which  was  itself  a  symptom  of  a  neuropathic  condition  which 
may  show  in  the  feeble-mindedness  of  the  child,  tho  the  child's 
own  mother  and  father  were  normal. 

Doubt  as  to  the  correctness  of  the  classification  may  be 
maintained  in  some  of  the  cases.  In  No.  201  for  instance 
the  father  was  alcohoHc  and  had  a  brother  who  was  blind. 
Byron's  paternal  grandfather  died  of  paralysis  at  eighty. 
Altho  paralysis  at  that  age  of  life  may  not  be  significant,  on 
the  other  hand  it  may  be.  There  is  rheumatism  on  that  side, 
and  also  in  the  mother's  family.  The  fact  that  there  were 
six  miscarriages  and  that  Byron  himself  was  born  bHnd,  is 
certainly  significant.  It  is  not  the  type  of  family  in  which  we 
find  hereditary  feeble-mindedness  and  there  is  no  suggestion  of 
any  other  member's  being  feeble-minded.  The  father  and 
mother  both  worked  in  pottery  works  and  it  is  possible  that  this 
may  be  a  case  due  directly  to  lead  poisoning.  If  this  is  true  it 
should  be  classed  with  the  accidents  after  birth,  since  it  would 
be  an  accidental  condition  affecting  the  mother's  abiHty  to  nour- 
ish her  child.  Since  this  cannot  be  demonstrated  and  there  are 
neuropathic  conditions  in  the  family,  it  has  been  classified  here. 

We  have  not  been  able  to  learn  very  much  about  Case  210. 
But  on  the  theory  that  neuropathic  conditions,  when  they  are 
numerous  and  significant,  may  cause  a  defective  offspring,  we 
have  placed  it  in  this  group.  As  will  be  seen,  the  mother  was 
very  nervous  and  sickly,  her  mother  died  of  cancer,  the  father's 
sister  was  insane,  and  their  father  died  of  apoplexy.  With  all  of 
this  deviation  from  perfect  health  it  is  perhaps  reasonable  to 
admit  that  this  explains  the  condition. 


NEUROPATHIC  ANCESTRY  AS  A   CAUSE  445 

No.  219,  is  one  of  another  character.  This  is  definitely  known 
as  a  case  of  Friedreich's  ataxia  which  is  recognized  as  a  family 
disease.  These  children  were  apparently  normal  for  a  time  but 
as  the  disease  began  to  develop  they  began  to  deteriorate  men- 
tally as  well  as  physically. 

The  cases  of  this  group  give  rise  to  many  interesting  questions 
which  we  do  not  pretend  to  answer.  For  example,  Chart 
216  shows  the  father  of  Kent  E.  alcohoKc  to  the  extent  of  suffer- 
ing from  delirium  tremens.  In  spite  of  that  fact  Kent  is  the 
only  feeble-minded  child  in  the  family,  and  there  were  six  normal 
children  born  after  him.  A  miscarriage  and  a  death  in  infancy 
may  be  due  to  the  alcohol,  but  certainly  if  alcohol  causes  feeble- 
mindedness we  should  have  a  strong  expectation  that  some  of 
the  later  children  would  be  feeble-minded.  The  mother's  father 
died  of  paralysis  and  a  number  of  deaths  in  infancy  in  her  family 
would  indicate  that  there  might  be  a  neuropathic  condition  on 
this  side  of  the  house  also.  But  why  did  this  neuropathic  condi- 
tion affect  only  one  individual  out  of  eleven,  or  out  of  eight 
if  we  count  only  those  that  survived  ?  Such  questions  we  cannot 
answer.  The  only  thing  that  we  can  say  is  that  in  this  case  con- 
ditions were  probably  just  right  for  the  worst  results  to  follow. 

Case  214  is  particularly  puzzling.  This  is  socially  a  good 
family  with  a  large  number  of  normal  people  in  it  —  not  very 
much  to  account  for  Isadore,  even  on  the  theory  of  neuropathic 
ancestry.  The  father  was  sexually  immoral;  his  mother  died 
of  paralysis  at  fifty,  while  his  father's  sister  was  neurotic.  Isa- 
dore's  mother's  brother  was  defective.  It  is  of  course  possible 
that  there  is  a  taint  of  feeble-mindedness  here  which  is  recessiv^e 
and  only  rarely  appears.  On  the  other  hand,  as  long  as  we  accept 
neuropathic  ancestry  as  a  possible  condition  of  feeble-mindedness, 
we  cannot  refuse  to  admit  it  here. 

Case  234  would  undoubtedly  be  placed  by  an  enthusiast  in 
the  Hereditary  Group ;  others  might  perhaps  say  it  came  from 
the  marriage  of  second  cousins.     But  with  the  alcohoHsm,  the 


446  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

insanity,  the  migraine,  the  miscarriages,  the  tuberculosis,  one 
must  certainly  admit  that  there  is  a  neuropathic  condition  here. 
If  neuropathic  ancestry  ever  causes  feeble-mindedness  it  must  be 
admitted  as  the  possible  cause  in  this  case. 

Case  215  looks  like  a  case  due  to  syphilis,  especially  as  the 
whole  order  of  things  in  the  fraternity  of  our  boy  is  one  that  is 
recognized  by  physicians  as  a  syphilitic  story,  —  the  deaths  in 
infancy,  the  miscarriages,  the  mental  defectives,  and  perhaps 
even  epileptics.  When  we  see  however  that  both  grandmothers 
died  of  paralysis  or  apoplexy,  we  cannot  be  sure  that  the  syphilis 
is  the  cause  of  the  feeble-mindedness. 

To  sum  up,  we  have  found  in  the  cases  placed  in  this  group : 
first,  generally  a  very  different  type  of  family  from  those  in  the 
other  groups ;  second,  either  no  other  feeble-mindedness,  or  at 
most  one  or  two  cases  that  are  certainly  accounted  for  by  acci- 
dent; third,  these  cases  are  practically  all  reported  as  being 
congenital ;  that  is,  the  defect  was  noted  too  early  to  be  due  to 
any  condition  existing  after  the  birth  of  the  child.  There  were 
no  conditions  at  the  time  of  birth  that  could  explain  it  and  no 
conditions  acting  before  birth  except  what  would  come  under 
the  head  of  the  neuropathic  ancestry. 

The  significance  of  these  cases  from  the  eugenic  standpoint 
will  be  considered  later. 

Biologically  and  socially  this  is  a  most  important  group. 
Whether  what  we  call  neuropathic  ancestry  is  true  heredity  or 
not,  cannot  be  determined  from  our  data.  In  most  of  the  cases 
it  would  appear  that  it  probably  is  not  hereditary  in  the  sense 
that  the  defect  of  these  children,  whose  condition  is  due  to  the 
above  mentioned  conditions  in  the  ancestors,  could  be  transmitted 
by  them  to  their  descendants.  The  question  involved  is  of 
course  the  biological  one  of  whether  the  condition  of  the  ancestors 
which  manifests  itself  as  paralysis,  insanity,  epilepsy,  blindness, 
deafness  or  other  neurotic  conditions  has  affected  the  germ  plasm. 
In  those  cases  where  the  various   conditions  are  found   in  the 


HEREDITARY  OR  ACQUIRED  447 

mother  there  is  no  necessity  for  concluding  that  it  has  affected 
the  germ  cells.  We  can  account  for  the  results  in  a  much  simpler 
way ;  namely,  that  the  condition  of  the  mother  has  affected  her 
power  of  nutrition,  and  that  therefore  the  offspring  is  not  brot 
to  complete  development.  With  the  father  the  case  is  somewhat 
different.  If  his  condition  of  paralysis  or  other  brain  trouble 
affects  the  offspring,  it  would  seem  to  be  conclusive  proof  that 
his  germ  cells  have  been  affected,  since  his  contribution  is  only 
the  germ  cell.  Where  the  neurotic  condition  has  been  found 
in  the  grandparents  only,  it  would  seem  that  they  had  produced 
in  their  offspring  a  condition  which  results  in  mental  defect  in 
the  second  generation.  Is  this  heredity  or  is  it  an  acquired 
condition?  We  must  leave  this  problem  for  the  biologists, 
merely  presenting  here  the  data  as  we  have  found  them. 

In  the  accidental  cases  there  would  be  according  to  current 
biological  theories  no  expectation  that  the  condition  would  be 
transmitted.  It  should  be  noted  that  any  of  the  cases  considered 
due  to  hereditary  feeble-mindedness,  or  those  due  to  neuropathic 
ancestry  may  in  turn  be  subject  to  accident.  In  fact  these 
accidents  are  often  present.  Herein  lies  the  inadequacy  of  the 
percentages  recorded  by  many  earher  investigators.  With  them, 
if,  e.g.,  instruments  were  used  at  birth,  this  was  considered  to 
be  the  cause  of  the  mental  defect  and  these  writers  did  not  inves- 
tigate to  see  whether  there  were  other  feeble-minded  individuals 
among  the  ancestors,  —  whether  it  might  not  be  a  case  of  heredi- 
tary feeble-mindedness. 

Since  many  normal  children  are  delivered  by  the  use  of  in- 
struments with  more  or  less  temporary  deformity  to  the  head 
but  without  any  effect  upon  the  mentaHty,  it  is  unreasonable 
to  conclude,  in  those  cases  where  there  is  both  hereditary  feeble- 
mindedness and  history  of  instrumental  delivery,  that  the 
latter  is  the  cause  of  the  mental  deficiency.  It  is  only  logical 
to  conclude  that  the  hereditary  condition  is  the  causal  one,  and 
the  other  a  mere  accident  superposed  upon  the  primal  condition 


448  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

and  probably  without  any  special  effect  upon  it.  The  same  is 
true  of  any  other  supposed  cause  of  feeble-mindedness,  which 
cannot  be  shown  to  be  the  sole  factor.  In  a  large  percentage  of 
cases  hereditary  feeble-mindedness  or  neuropathic  ancestry  will 
be  found  and  must  be  recognized  as  the  adequate  cause. 

ACCIDENT 

Under  the  head  of  accident  we  have  grouped  all  those  cases 
that  seem  to  be  due  to  causes  that  might  have  been  prevented, 
both  those  acting  before  the  birth  of  the  child  and  those  acting 
at,  and  after  the  birth.  See  pages  351  to  434.  These  altogether 
constitute  fifty-seven  cases,  or  19  %  of  our  total  number. 

Twenty-five  cases  or  8.2  %  were  due  to  causes  acting  before 
birth;  of  these,  11  cases  (3.6%)  belong  to  the  MongoHan  type 
and  have  been  set  aside  for  special  discussion.  Thirty-two  cases 
or  10.6  %  were  due  to  causes  acting  after  birth.  Of  these,  16 
(5-3  %)  were  due  to  meningitis.  They  also  are  discussed  by 
themselves. 

Accidents  before  or  at  Birth.  This  group  comprises  14 
cases  (exclusive  of  Mongolians)  or  4.6  %  of  the  total.  Pages 
351  to  366. 

The  causes  of  these  cases  will  be  found  with  the  history  of  each 
chart  and  may  be  briefly  summarized  as  follows : 

Premature  birth  i 

Mother  seriously  ill  with  fever  i 

•  Father  a  potter,  suggesting  possible  lead  poisoning  i 

Mother  with  severe  mental  distress  i 

Difficult  birth  (one  partial  strangulation)  2 

Mother  very  ill  during  pregnancy  i 
Neglect  of  child  at  birth  in  order  to  save  the  mother  i 

Shock  to  mother  i 

Drugs  to  produce  miscarriage  2 

Absence  of  thyroid  gland  (Cretinism)  i 

Instrumental  delivery  i 

Fall  of  the  mother  i 


CAUSES  — INSTRUMENTAL    DELIVERY  449 

■  It  should  be  understood  that  we  do  not  assert  that  these  were 
the  actual  or  sole  causes  of  the  feeble-mmdedness  in  the  respec- 
tive cases.  They  have  been  put  hito  this  group  because  we  have 
not  been  able  to  find  any  other  possible  causes  and  these  are 
supposed  to  be  the  frequen]t  causes  of  mental  defect. 

The  reader  who  studies  the  cases  may  conclude  that  many 
of  these  ''causes"  are  entirely  inadequate  and  that  the  cases 
should  be  referred,  some  to  hereditary  feeble-mindedness,  others 
to  neuropathic  ancestors,  perhaps  others  left  without  any  assign- 
able cause. 

The  fact  that  only  4-6  %  of  our  cases  are  left  as  possibly  due 
to  these  causes  is  in  itself  somewhat  surprising  when  formerly 
some  of  the  things  here  mentioned  have  been  credited  with  caus- 
ing a  large  percentage  of  feeble-mindedness. 

Many  people  suppose    that    a  goodly    proportion  of  feeble- 
mindedness is  produced  by  the  carelessness  of  physicians  in  the 
use  of  mstruments  at  the  birth  of  the  child.   It  certamly  is  striking 
that  only  one  of  our  337  cases  remamstobe  accounted  for  in  this 
way.     It  is  true  that  we  have  histories  of  instrumental  dehveries 
in  28  cases  but  other  more  probable  causes  are  always  present. 
Fourteen  are  in  the  Hereditary  Group,  4  in  the  Neuropathic  and 
10  in  the  Accident.     In  very  few  of  these  cases  is  the  use  of  m- 
struments  even  assigned  as  the  cause  by  the  parents  or  physician. 
If  a  family  is  notoriously  feeble-mmded  thruout  its  branches  it 
is  illogical  to  ascribe  a  particular  case  of  feeble-mindedness  in 
that  family  to  the  use  of  instruments.     Whether  a  mother's  fall 
three  weeks  before  the  birth  of  a  child  can  account  for  the  child's 
being  feeble-minded  is  certainly  questionable.     The  same  thing 
may  be  said  of  the  mental  shock  to  the  mother.     Of  course  the 
only  basis  upon  which  such  theories  are  at  all  tenable  is  that  the 
fall  or  the  shock  has  interfered  with  the  normal  metaboHsm  of 
the  mother,  with  the  consequence  that  the  fetus  is  not  nourished 
and  an  arrest  of  development  of  the  nervous  system  of  the  child 
results. 

2  G 


450  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

When  one  thinks  of  the  enormous  number  of  premature  birth; 
that  do  not  result  in  defective  children,  the  difficulties  at  birth, 
the  partial  strangulation,  the  shock,  both  mental  and  physical 
that  mothers  go  thru  and  yet  the  children  born  are  perfectly 
normal,  one  cannot  but  conclude  that  the  difference  must  lie  in 
the  differences  in  the  stocks  themselves,  —  that  a  good  stock 
can  invariably  withstand  an  immense  amount  of  accident, 
while  a  poor  stock  requires  only  a  shght  shock  to  throw  it  over 
into  the  abnormal  side. 

These  facts  and  figures  seem  to  compel  us  to  conclude  that 
such  causes  as  listed  under  accidents  before  or  at  birth  have  a 
very  small  influence  upon  the  question  of  feeble-mindedness, 
and  that  we  have  in  all  of  these  cases  a  substratum  of  hereditary 
defect,  occurring  in  a  stock,  normal  indeed  in  itself,  but  so  near 
the  borderline  that  a  small  additional  shock  produces  marked 
defect.  All  these  considerations  emphasize  the  Httle  we  know 
about  such  matters  and  the  great  need  of  careful  investigation. 

The  Mongolian  Group 

One  of  the  most  clearly  defined  and  the  best  known  group  of 
defectives  is  that  designated  by  the  term  Mongolian,  so  called 
from  a  more  or  less  close  resemblance  to  the  Asiatic  type  of  coun- 
tenance, the  slanting  eyes  and  round  face.  Their  other  char- 
acteristics are  short  stubby  fingers,  rather  a  dry,  rough  skin, 
poor  circulation,  a  decided  lack  of  the  occipital  protuberance, 
the  cranium  giving  the  appearance  of  a  straight  line  up  from  the 
neck,  and  usually,  especially  in  the  older  cases,  there  is  a  deeply 
furrowed  tongue. 

As  a  rule  there  is  only  one  defective  in  the  family  where  the 
Mongohans  occur.  They  come  more  often  from  the  better 
famines.  It  is  generally  agreed  that  the  condition  is  congenital 
and  is  due  to  something  which  interferes  with  prenatal  develop- 
ment. Both  Dr.  Shuttleworth  and  Dr.  Carson  have  called  atten- 
tion to  the  fact  that  they  are  very  frequently  the  last  born  in 


MONGOLISM  —  STATISTICS  45^ 

rather  large  families;  the  implication  is  that  the  condition 
is  due  to  uterine  exhaustion  whereby  the  mother  is  not  able  to 
bring  the  offspring  to  full  development.  When  they  are  not  the 
last  born  it  is  oftenipund  that  there  has  been  some  severe  phys- 
ical or  mental  shock  to  the  mother  which  may  have  temporarily 
interfered  with  the  procreative  function. 

We  have  collected  from  other  institutions  statistics  on  332 
cases  of  MongoHanism.  In  294  of  these,  where  the  order  of 
birth  was  known,  we  found  151  cases  where  the  child  was  the  last 
born  in  famiHes  of  more  than  one.     This  is  51  9c- 

It  has  sometimes  been  claimed  that  MongoUanism  is  due  to 
the  advanced  age  of  the  father  or  mother  at  the  birth  of  the 
child.  Of  the  332  children  above  referred  to  we  knew  the  age 
of  the  mother  in  295  cases  and  the  age  of  the  father  in  291 
cases. 

The  following  table  gives  the  distribution  of  the  children 
according  to  the  age  of  the  parents :  the  upper  line  shows  the 
ages  of  the  parents ;  the  second  hne  shows  the  number  of  children 
born  to  fathers  of  the  various  ages  ;  the  third  line,  the  number  of 
children  born  to  the  mothers  of  the  various  ages. 

SHOWING   AGE    OF   PARENTS   AT   BIRTH   OF   MONGOLIAN  CHILDREN 

Parents'  age 16,  17,  18,  19,  20,  21,  22,  23,  24,  25,^26,  27,  28, 

No.  of  children  born  when 

the  father  is  of  the  given 

age 2,    I,    7,    6,    3,    9,    8,  10,    4, 

No.  of  children  born  when 

the    mother    is   of    the 

given  age 2,    i,    5,    2,    6,10,    6,    5,    3,    8,10,    9,    7, 

Parents' age 29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41, 

No.  of  children  born  when 

the  father  is  of  the  given 

age 6,10,    3,16,    8,10,    9,    7,    8,16,    7,20,12, 

No.  of  children  bom  when 

the    mother   is    of    the 

given  age 6,    8,    6,    4,    9,    8,15,12,14,15.15,39,21, 


452  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

SHOWING  AGE   OF  PARENTS   AT  BIRTH    OF  MONGOLIAN  CHILDREN  —  COflttnUed 

Parents'  age 42,  43,  44.  45,  46,  47,  48,  49,  5°,  5i,  52,  53,  54, 

No.  of  children  bom  when 

the  father  is  of  the  given 

age 13,  13,  16,    8,    7,    8,    9,    8,    8,    5,    i,    3,    2, 

No.  of  children  bora  when 

the    mother    is    of    the 

given  age 14,    8,    8,  10,    2,    4,    o,    o,    i,    o,    i,    o,    o, 

Parents'  age 55,  5^,  58,  59,  60,  63 

No.  of  children  born  when 

the  father  is  of  the  given 

age 2,    o,    I,    I,    3,    ^  Total  —  Father  291 

No.  of  children  born  when 

the    mother    is    of    the 

given  age 1,0.0,0,0,0  Total  —  Mother  295 

The  table  shows  clearly  that  Mongolian  children  are  born  at 
all  the  ages  during  the  child-bearing  period ;  that  fathers  may 
beget  Mongolians  at  any  age  from  20  to  63.  As  to  whether  the 
proportion  of  children  born  at  any  given  age  of  parents  is 
greater  for  Mongolians,  we  cannot  say  from  this  table.  Nor 
does  this  show  whether  great  disparity  in  the  ages  of  the  father 
or  mother  has  anything  to  do  with  the  matter.  The  number  of 
children  bom  when  the  mother  is  40  is  much  higher  than  at 
any  other  age.     This  may  or  may  not  be  significant. 

Mongolian  children  are  supposed  to  be  short-lived ;  w^e  have 
made  a  table  of  the  present  ages  of  these  332  MongoHan  children. 

Distributions  of  Ages  of  Mongolians  . 
Of  332  Cases  now  living  in  Institutions,  the  ages  are  as  follows: 

Chronological  age:   5,  6,     7,    8,    9,  10,  11,  12,  13,  14,  15,  16,  17,  18,  19, 
Number  of  cases:     2,  9,  17,  22,  23,  26,  22,  30,  19,  25,  17,  19,  14,  16,  11, 

Chronological  age:  20,  21,  22,  23,  24,  25,  26,  27,  28,  29,  30,  31,  32,  ss, 
Number  of  cases :      6,    7,    4,    5,    5,    5,    3,    2,    3,    3,    3,    2,     o,    i, 

Chronological  age:    34,  35,  36,  39,  4c,  53 

Number  of  cases :       3,    4,     i,    i,    i,    i  Total  —  332 


MONGOLISM  —  CHARACTERISTIC  FAMILIES  453 

Xtjs-ari^arkable  fact  that  the  mentality  of  MongoHan  im- 
beciles is  almost  always  that  of  a  four  year  old  child.  In  the  group 
Here  at  the  Training  School  numbering  eleven  cases  eight  have  the 
mentahty  of  four ;  one  is  six  ;  one  five  ;  one  is  two.  This  fact  of 
their  being  practically  of  the  same  mentahty  and  of  very  striking 
physical  resemblance  to  each  other  would  seem  to  point  to  a 
definite  time  in  fetal  life  when  the  arrest  takes  place. 

Charts  250-260  inclusive  are  those  of  Mongolians.  While 
they  show  many  degrees  of  completeness  and  compHca- 
tions  with  other  conditions  supposed  to  be  more  or  less 
causal  of  feeble-mindedness  they  as  a  whole  merely  dem- 
onstrate that  the  MongoHan  condition  is  itself  not  heredi- 
tary nor  is  it  surely  due  to  a  neuropathic  condition  of 
the  ancestors,  tho  careful  study  frequently  reveals  more 
or  less  nervous  disturbance  in  the  ancestry.  While  there 
seems  to  be  no  reason  why  the  cause  whatever  it  is  of  Mon- 
golianism  should  not  act  upon  the  low  grade  families,  the  fact 
remains  that  it  rarely  does,  and  pra^ically  all  of  our  cases  are 
from  the  better  type.  This  was  strikingly  impressed  upon  the 
writer  from  a  study  of  the  children  in  the  special  classes  in  New 
York  City  schools.  Those  classes  in  schools  in  the  upper  west 
side  and  other  better  sections  of  New  York  City  were  found  to 
possess  on  the  average  about  one  MongoHan  in  every  class ; 
whereas  on  the  lower  east  side  and  other  classes  in  the  poorer 
sections  of  the  city  few  or  no  Mongolians  were  found. 

Chart  259  may  be  taken  as  typical  of  what  is  often  found 
in  these  families.  Here  is  a  family  where  we  have  been  able  to  get 
accurate  information  in  regard  to  a  considerable  number  of  indi- 
viduals. They  proved  to  be  normal  and  rather  exceptionally  free 
fr-r.^  ^f i^^v  f  .-^,,Ki^c7  xhe  paternal grandf-^  ther  had  no  palate  and 
.  paternal  aunt  \n  a,.s  atlected  with  what  is  spoken  of  as  reHgious 
iuania.  Among  the  sibs  of  our  boy  two  died  in  infancy  and  there 
was  one  miscarriage.  The  fact  may  peihaps  be  taken  to  in- 
•'icate  thy,t  there  is.  some  k'  ical  pecuHarity  in  the 


454 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


families  where  Mongolianism  occurs,  but  it  is  usually  obscure  and 
frequently  not  more  marked  than  would  be  found  in  many  good 
famines.  At  the  present  time  metabolism  studies  of  these  cases 
seem  likely  to  throw  the  most  light  upon  this  difficult  problem. 

Chart  260  shows  alcoholism  in  the  father  and  epilepsy  in  a 
maternal  aunt.  Chart  253  shows  alcohohsm  in  the  paternal 
grand-uncle,  —  which  is  too  far  away  to  be  significant.  Two 
other  charts  also  show  alcohohsm  more  or  less  remote.  Chart  258 
shows  paralysis  in  the  mother.  Two  charts  show  apoplexy  and 
two  others  show  insanity,  more  or  less  remote  from  the  patient. 

Chart  255  shows  syphihs,  but  it  will  be  seen  that  it  is  in 
no  way  related  to  the  Mongohan  case.  Chart  257  shows 
much  nerve  disease  of  a  more  or  less  serious  character.  If  such 
conditions  were  found  usually  in  the  famiHes  of  the  MongoKans 
we  should  be  compelled  to  look  to  the  nervous  system  itself  as 
the  seat  of  the  trouble,  but  as  will  be  seen  this  is  not  the  rule. 

It  has  sometimes  been  stated  that  the  presence  of  a  mentally 
defective  child  of  the  Mongolian  type  is  a  certificate  that  there 
are  no  other  mental  defectives  in  the  family.  There  are  however 
four  of  the  families  that  do  show  other  defectives.  Of  these 
four,  No.  250  shows  a  niece  of  the  patient  who  is  feeble-minded 
and  another  one  that  is  questionably  normal.  It  is  entirely  pos- 
sible that  the  feeble-mindedness  in  these  two  nieces  may  have  come 
in  thru  the  mother's  family.  It  has  not  been  possible  to  determine 
enough  about  this  family  to  draw  conclusions.  No.  256  is  still 
further  removed.  A  second  cousin  is  feeble-minded  but  his  father 
was  a  suicide  and  it  is  quite  possible  that  the  defect  came  from 
that  side  of  the  house  and  is  not  in  the  blood  of  our  patient  at  all. 

Chart  255  shows  three  cases  of  mental  defect :  one  is  an 
uncle  of  our  Mongolian  bov.  Another  is  r  rf^^^^ir^  of  i^^r  Ur^^.r 
a  meningitic    case,   als  i.nt-   Institutiofi.       .v' -  •:    v.r    ir.ok 

at  his  ancestry,  howevi  find  that  liis  paten;  i  ..;r.indfather 

and  grandmother  were  syphilitic,  the  former  beir< 

alcoholic ;  so  that  unles    wo  are  willing  to  discard  s^-p^ 


ACCIDENTS  AFTER  BIRTH  455 

parents  and  meningitis  in  the  child  as  causes  of  feeble-minded- 
ness  there  is  no  logical  reason  to  connect  these  two  cases  as 
having  the  same  origin. 

Chart  252  is  an  interesting  one  since  it  also  shows  two 
other  defectives,  but  careful  observation  shows  that  these  are 
only  distantly  related  second  cousins  and  are  the  offspring 
of  a  very  unusual  combination ;  their  paternal  grandparents 
were  second  cousins  and  also  the  maternal  grandparents,  and 
the  two  grandmothers  were  sisters  and  the  two  grandfathers 
brothers ;  it  would  seem  evident  that  if  there  was  any  defect 
in  this  family  any^vhere  it  would  certainly  come  to  the  surface 
as  the  result  of  such  inbreeding. 

On  the  whole,  while  it  is  possible  to  make  the  generaKzation 
that  in  the  famihes  of  Mongolian  imbeciles  there  are  always  some 
individuals  who  show  morbid  characteristics,  yet  these  are 
usually  so  shght  and  often  so  far  removed  that  it  may  well  be 
contended  that  they  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  condition,  and 
we  may  accept  what  has  been  held  as  the  probable  truth  by  all 
those  who  have  studied  MongoHanism ;  namely,  that  the  sole 
and  adequate  cause  is  to  be  sought  in  the  condition  of  the  mother 
during  pregnancy.  But  what  caused  the  abnormal  condition 
of  the  mother  ? 

Accidents  after  Birth.  There  are  32  of  these,  16  of  which 
are  meningitis^  The  "  remaining  16  constitute  5.3%  of  our 
cases,  Nos.  261-276  inclusive. 

The  causes  are  summarized  as  follows : 

Blow  on  the  head 

Scarlet  fever 

Beri-beri 

Convulsions  (possibly  epileptic) 

Infantile  paralysis 

Typhoid  fever 

^  The  infantile  paralysis  which  is  mentioned  in  two  cases  is  in  all  probability 
not  acute  anterior  poliomyelitis.  It  is  more  probable  that  it  is  a  hemiplegia  or 
a  diplegia  occurring  in  early  infancy. 


I 

Fall  on  the  head 

3 

2 

Alcohol 

I 

I 

Drugs 

I 

2  1 

Whooping-cough 

I 

2 

Measles 

I 

I 

456  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

Comments  made  on  the  group  supposed  to  be  due  to  accidents 
before  or  at  birth,  might  be  repeated  for  this  group.  While  on 
the  whole  it  seems  that  these  assigned  causes  have  a  better  basis 
than  in  the  former  group,  yet  the  question  must  still  be  raised 
whether,  for  example,  the  blow  on  the  head  was  actually  the  cause 
of  the  defect,  or  whether  beri-beri  can  cause  feeble-mindedness. 
It  is  again  significant  that  out  of  all  of  our  cases  only  5.3  % 
can  be  assigned  to  those  commonly  assumed  causes.  There  is 
only  one  case  assigned  to  measles;  one  to  whooping-cough. 
Why  does  whooping-cough,  even  a  very  severe  attack,  leave  one 
child  feeble-minded  while  it  does  not  leave  the  great  majority 
feeble-minded?  Many  a  child  has  had  a  most  severe  attack  of 
measles,  his  Hfe  being  barely  saved,  and  yet  he  has  not  had  his 
mentaHty  affected  in  the  least.  Of  course  if  a  child  with  whoop- 
ing-cough has  a  paroxysm  severe  enough  to  cause  the  rupture  of 
a  blood-vessel,  as  is  supposed  to  be  the  fact  in  these  cases,  we 
see  before  us  an  adequate  cause  for  the  condition.  But  why  does 
this  child's  blood-vessel  burst  when  others  do  not  ?  The  answer 
can  only  be  that  there  is  a  constitutional  weakness  of  the  vascular 
system  which  allows  of  a  rupture  here  and  not  in  other  instances. 

So  we  are  led  back  again  to  the  thot  that  we  have  in  these  cases 
instances  of  defective  organism  where  a  special  stress  has  thrown 
it  over  into  the  abnormal  group.  For  the  solution  of  these 
problems,  we  need  much  more  study ;  we  need  autopsies  on  all 
cases  in  order  to  discover  whether  the  supposed  brain  lesion  is 
actually  present  or  the  arrest  of  development  of  brain  cells  had 
really  occurred  in  such  a  way  that  it  could  account  for  the  con- 
dition. We  need  chemical  studies  to  discover  whether  the  metab- 
oHsm  has  been  interfered  with,  so  that  as  a  result  the  chemical 
composition  of  the  brain  cells  has  been  rendered  inadequate. 

With  such  studies  before  us  we  should  perhaps  be  able  to  say 
whether  these  assigned  causes  are  really  adequate  or  not ;  and 
knowing  the  cause  we  might  be  in  a  way  to  prevent  the  conse- 
quences in  these  accidental  case 


MENINGITIS  ^:)7 

In  view  of  the  small  percentage  of  cases  ascribable  to  these 
accidents  in  comparison  with  the  much  larger  percentages  given 
by  others,  one  is  led  to  question  whether  in  those  cases  all  possible 
causes  have  been  considered,  and  whether  more  plausible  reasons 
have  not  been  omitted ;  whether  the  family  history  if  studied 
in  all  cases  might  not  have  shown  a  great  percentage  of  cases 
of  hereditary  feeble-mindedness  with  the  whooping-cough  or 
measles  as  merely  a  coincidence. 

Meningitis 

Of  all  the  diseases  or  accidental  conditions  credited  with 
being  causes  of  mental  defectiveness,  probably  spinal  meningitis 
is  the  surest  and  most  frequent.  Surest  because  the  causal 
relation  can  be  so  easily  and  convincingly  traced  that  there 
remains  no  doubt.  The  same  can  hardly  be  said  of  other  so-called 
accidental  causes.  With  measles  as  with  a  fall  from  the  high- 
chair,  with  whooping-cough  or  with  a  blow  on  the  head,  we  are 
practically  always  more  or  less  in  doubt  and  we  fall  back  upon 
these  as  causes  because  we  know  of  nothing  else. 

In  the  case  of  meningitis  however  we  not  only  have  a  disease 
characterized  by  inflammation  of  the  membranes  surrounding  the 
brain  and  spinal-cord,  which  inflammation  and  disturbance  may 
easily  be  conveyed  to  the  tissues  of  the  nerve  centers  themselves, 
and  so  might  be  expected  to  cause  trouble,  but  we  can  also  see 
very  accurately  the  result.  The  child  who  recovers  from  spinal 
meningitis  immediately  shows  his  mental  defect,  and  there  is  no 
escape  from  the  conviction  that  it  was  due  directly  to  the  disease. 

Spinal  meningitis  has  in  the  past  been  a  common  disease  and 
highly  fatal,  the  morbidity  running  as  high  as  75  %  while  of  the 
25  %  who  survived  about  97  %  became  mentally  defective.  (It 
has  been  estimated  that  only  3  %  of  those  who  survive  meningitis 
survive  with  normal  intelhgence.)  Under  the  newer  treatment 
for  this  disease  however  mortality  has  been  reduced  to  25%. 
What  effect  this  has  had  upon  the  mentality  it  is  as  yet  too  early 


458  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

to  determine.  If  the  75  %  who  now  survive  are  mentally  defec- 
tive to  the  same  degree  as  formerly,  then  the  value  of  the  newer 
treatment  may  fairly  be  questioned.  However,  it  is  to  be 
hoped  that  this  treatment  saves  the  injury  to  the  brain  so  that 
most  if  not  all  of  those  who  recover  will  recover  with  a  normal 
mind. 

We  find  among  our  cases  16,  or  5.3  %,  that  are  clearly  due  to 
meningitis.  See  Charts  277  to  292  inclusive.  As  will  be  seen 
from  the  descriptions  of  these  cases  they  are  very  largely  of  low 
grade.  There  are  two  cases  who  have  the  mentality  of  a  nor- 
mal child  of  10;  one  case  a  mentaHty  of  9;  one  7;  one  5; 
one  4.     The  rest  are  i,  2  or  3. 

Charts  286  and  287  show  remarkably  clean  normal  families, 
with  no  alcoholism,  syphihs,  insanity,  epilepsy  or  other  disease 
or  condition  that  could  possibly  account  for  the  mental  defect. 
Even  if  we  were  in  any  doubt  as  to  the  abihty  of  meningitis  to 
produce  the  result,  these  cases  would  go  a  long  way  toward  estab- 
lishing the  causal  relation. 

Charts  278  and  288  are  also  remarkably  clear.  In  the 
former  the  father  was  alcoholic;  in  the  latter,  there  was  a 
paternal  grandfather  who  died  of  paralysis,  and  a  maternal 
grandfather  who  was  insane.  If  these  conditions  had  any  influ- 
ence upon  their  respective  descendants  it  did  not  show  except  in 
our  two  children.     Chart  288  contains  43  normal  people. 

The  remaining  charts  show  various  complications  with  other 
diseases  and  various  grades  and  types  of  famihes.  In  some  cases 
there  are  conditions  that  are  quite  as  bad  as  we  find  in  some 
famihes  where  there  is  no  meningitis ;  in  such  cases  of  course  it 
is  not  possible  to  say  which  was  the  more  potent  factor  in  causing 
the  mental  defect,  the  meningitis  or  the  morbid  conditions. 

In  four  cases  there  are  other  mental  defectives  in  the  family, 
and  in  such  relation  to  the  patient  that  it  might  seem  possible 
to  make  a  diagnosis  of  probably  hereditary  feeble-mindedness. 
The  first  of  these  is  Case  284,  already  discussed  in  the  section 


MENINGITIS  AND  OTHER  CONDITIONS  459 

on  Mongolianism.  On  this  chart  it  is  seen  that  Ira  I.  is  a  Mongo- 
lian imbecile,  but  Fred  K.  is  a  defective  who  has  had  meningitis. 
Besides  this,  Fred's  younger  brother  is  also  feeble-minded,  and 
it  is  possible  that  the  father  was  a  moron,  which  would  point 
strongly  toward  an  hereditary  condition.  (See  revised  chart, 
page  32.)  The  mentahty  of  the  paternal  grandparents  has  been 
undetermined  —  both  were  syphilitic;  the  grandfather  was 
alcoholic.  It  is  entirely  possible  that  this  case  should  be  thrown 
out  of  the  meningitis  group  on  the  ground  that  Fred  K.  would 
have  been  feeble-minded  even  had  he  not  had  meningitis. 

Case  282  shows  the  father  of  Luella  was  feeble-minded.  We 
know  nothing  more  about  him  and  while  it  is  possible  that  his 
condition  may  also  have  been  an  accident,  on  the  other  hand  it 
may  have  been  hereditary  and  Luella  may  be  an  hereditary  case 
of  feeble-mindedness,  and  should  be  thrown  out  like  the  preced- 
ing case. 

However  again  we  are  not  warranted  in  doing  this,  since  all 
that  is  uncertain  while  the  meningitis  is  sure. 

Case  279  shows  a  maternal  grand-uncle  feeble-minded,  while 
the  father  and  paternal  grandfather  were  paralytic.  The  charac- 
ter of  this  family  leads  us  to  conclude  that  it  is  not  a  case  of 
hereditary  feeble-mindedness. 

Case  289  is  also  a  somewhat  doubtful  one  from  the  heredi- 
tary standpoint,  especially  as  David's  cousin  also  had  meningitis. 
This  chart  well  illustrates  a  principle  that  we  need  to  bear  in 
mind  in  many  other  cases.  It  is  perfectly  clear  that  there  is  a 
neuropathic  ancestry  here.  When  we  consider  the  paralysis, 
the  fact  that  one  woman  is  marked  "erratic,"  another  one 
disappeared,  one  is  neurotic,  one  is  deHcate  and  has  poor  sight, 
and  another  woman  has  had  four  miscarriages  and  two  children 
'  died  in  infancy,  we  are  compelled  to  beHeve  that  there  is  a  neuro- 
pathic condition  in  this  family  which  only  needs  a  Kttle  additional 
stimulus  to  throw  it  over  into  positive  abnormality.  Perhaps 
even  a  mild  c  leningitis  would  cause  mental  defect  here, 


46o  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

whereas,  it  would  not  cause  it  in  a  healthier  stock.  If  we  omit 
the  two  cases  where  there  is  the  possibiHty  that  the  condition  is 
hereditary,  we  still  have  14  cases  or  4.6  %,  so  that  so  far  as  our 
data  are  concerned  the  fact  seems  to  be  established  that  about 
5  %  of  the  cases  of  feeble-mindedness  may  be  attributed  to  this 
scourge,  cerebro-spinal  meningitis. 

Besides  these  cases  that  we  attribute  definitely  to  meningitis 
there  are  12  cases  of  meningitis  in  the  Hereditary  Group.  In  5 
of  these  meningitis  was  the  cause  assigned  by  the  parents. 

There  were  3  in  the  Neuropathic  Group  and  3  in  the  Accident 
but  they  were  not  due  to  the  meningitis. 

Of  the  hereditary  and  neuropathic  cases  nothing  can  be  deter- 
mined. Of  the  three  in  the  Accident  Group  we  know  that  they 
were  feeble-minded  before  the  attack  of  meningitis. 

NO    CAUSE    DISCOVERED 

The  last  of  the  classified  cases  is  a  small  group  of  eight  family 
histories  in  which  there  is  no  cause  apparent  in  spite  of  the  fact 
that  each  history  is  fairly  complete.     Charts  293-300. 

Five  of  these  cases  have  paralysis  in  one  or  both  of  the  grand- 
parents. This  raises  the  question  of  a  possible  causal  relation 
between  paralysis  and  feeble-mindedness.  This  will  be  dis- 
cussed in  a  later  chapter  and  it  is  only  necessary  to  call  attention 
to  the  fact  that  here  are  five  cases  that  have  nothing  else  that 
can  be  considered  as  a  cause.  If  the  paralysis  is  not  to  be  con- 
sidered, these  cases  must  be  counted  with  the  three  to  be  dis- 
cussed next. 

Spontaneous  Origin.  The  cases  of  hereditary  feeble-minded- 
ness give  rise  to  the  question  —  how  did  it  begin  ?  For  Daven- 
port's answer  the  reader  may  be  interested  to  look  at  his  article 
in  the  Popular  Science  Monthly  for  January,  191 2. 

Before  biology  had  attained  to  its  present  views  we  should 
have  been  content  to  state  that  feeble-mindedness  may  begin 
at  any  time  in  any  family,  as  a  sport,  a  variant,  a  mutation. 


NO  CAUSE  DISCOVERED  461 

While  we  are  no  longer  content  with  that  answer,  realizing  that 
this  only  pushes  the  question  farther  back,  we  are  nevertheless 
interested  to  see  how  many  cases  out  of  our  total  number  seem 
to  be  sports  or  variants,  that  is,  with  no  assignable  cause,  and 
yet  under  conditions  of  which  all  the  facts  seem  to  be  known. 

In  our  300  cases  there  are  3  cases  of  this  character.  No.  298, 
—  that  of  a  colored  child,  and  Nos.  299,  300,  white  children. 
These  are  all  well  filled  charts  with  practically  nothing  to  account 
for  the  defect.  Such  charts  look  as  tho  it  were  a  question  of 
spontaneous  feeble-mindedness. 

No.  298  to  be  sure,  has  another  case  of  feeble-mindedness  in 
the  family,  but  this  case  also  has  epilepsy,  and  we  have  been 
unable  to  determine  whether  the  mental  defect  is  the  result  of 
the  epilepsy,  or  whether  the  epilepsy  was  grafted  on  to  a  defective 
individual.  The  fraternity  of  Nancy  H.  looks  as  tho  there  were 
some  definite  cause  acting  which  has  resulted  in  the  non-viabiHty 
of  at  least  five  of  the  offspring.  The  case  is  not  as  conclusive  as 
the  next  two. 

Case  299  shows  a  large  number  of  perfectly  normal  people. 
There  is  alcohohsm  in  both  grandfathers,  but  if  this  has  any 
causal  relation  to  the  case  of  feeble-mindedness  it  is  strange  that 
it  has  affected  only  one  of  the  fifteen  children.  It  is  doubtful  if 
any  one  would  assume  that  the  alcohol  had  anything  to  do  with 
the  case. 

In  Case  300,  there  is  not  even  alcohol.  There  are  some 
tumors,  but  tumor  has  never  been  suggested  as  a  cause  of  feeble- 
mindedness nor  is  it  indicative  of  a  degenerate  or  a  neuropathic 
family.  Therefore,  Eunice  G.  also  stands  as  a  case  ''without 
a  cause." 

In  such  cases  we  have  only  two  alternatives,  either  they  are 
cases  of  spontaneous  development  of  feeble-mindedness,  or  there 
is  an  adequate  cause,  either  in  bad  heredity  which  does  not 
show  because  it  has  been  recessive,  or  in  some  accidental  cause 
which  has  not  been  recorded  because  forgotten  or  perhaps  so 


462  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

apparently  insignificant  that  it  is  not  recognized.  Which  of 
these  two  is  the  correct  view  cannot  be  ascertained.  It  could 
of  course  be  tested  if  these  feeble-minded  individuals  were  to 
marry  and  we  could  infer  from  the  character  of  the  offspring 
whether  the  defect  was  an  inherited  or  acquired  one.  In  this 
connection  it  is  worthy  to  note,  that  we  have  never  yet  found  any 
cases,  either  in  this  Institution  or  others  so  far  as  the  writer  has 
been  able  to  learn,  where  a  line  of  hereditary  feeble-mindedness 
seems  to  have  had  its  beginning.  That  is  to  say,  no  chart  has 
ever  been  constructed  where  it  is  possible  to  say,  that  here  it  is 
evident  that  the  feeble-mindedness  began  and  here  we  see  it  has 
been  transmitted. 

It  is  also  worthy  of  note  that  these  three  cases  are  all  of  so 
low  grade  that  they  never  would  marry  even  tho  they  were  not 
in  the  Institution.  If  297  cases  have  been  settled,  leaving  only 
three  undetermined,  it  is  highly  probable  that  if  we  could  dig  a 
little  deeper  we  could  find  an  adequate  cause  for  these  three. 

We  conclude,  then,  that  our  data  offer  practically  no  evidence 
of  the  spontaneous  origin  of  hereditary  feeble-mindedness.  This, 
Kke  so  many  other  problems  connected  with  the  subject,  must 
wait  for  further  study  and  observations  on  these  families  in  future 
generations.  The  famiUes  which  we  have  investigated  should  be 
carefully  watched  for  years  to  come. 

UNCLASSIFIED    CASES 

There  remain  27  families  in  which  we  have  not  been  able  to  get 
sufficient  accurate  information  to  warrant  even  a  guess  as  to 
the  cause  of  the  feeble-mindedness  of  the  child  that  is  with  us. 

Lest  it  might  seem  that  we  have  thrown  these  cases  out 
without  giving  due  weight  to  the  facts  they  contain,  we  give 
a  brief  consideration  to  the  conditions  prevalent  in  these 
families. 

There  is  the  group  in  which  some  member  in  direct  line  was 
alcoholic.     These   are  cases    301-307.     With  the  exception  of 


INSUFFICIENT  DATA  463 

Case  307  which  has  a  mentality  of  two,  these  are  all  quite 
high  grade  —  six,  seven  or  eight  years  of  mentality. 

A  glance  at  these  charts  will  show  the  reader  that  there  is  no 
logical  argument  for  alcohol  as  the  cause  of  the  condition.  In 
Case  303  the  father  was  alcohoUc  but  neither  his  nor  his 
parents'  mental  condition  is  determined.  The  mother  is  ac- 
counted normal  with  a  question,  and  her  parents  are  also  un- 
determined. It  is  entirely  possible  that  there  might  have  been 
feeble-mindedness  on  either  or  both  sides  and  that  this  is  a  case 
of  true  heredity. 

Case  301  may  seem  a  Httle  stronger  because  all  of  the  grand- 
parents are  normal,  but  since  the  condition  of  mental  defect  may 
skip  a  generation,  the  defect  may  be  in  the  parents  of  Gus  G. 
who  are  undetermined  mentally,  and  here  would  be  a  case  of 
true  heredity.  Any  argument  that  might  be  thot  to  prevail  for 
the  alcohoHsm  of  the  father  is  certainly  negatived  by  the  fact  that 
by  his  first  wife  he  had  no  feeble-minded  children,  but  on  the 
contrary  two  normals.  The  two  deaths  in  infancy  may  possibly 
be  credited  to  the  alcohol. 

Case  306  is  interesting.  The  father  is  not  only  alcohoUc 
but  insane.  The  insanity  is  more  hkely  to  be  closely  connected 
with  Frankie's  condition  than  the  alcohol.  If  one  tried  to  main- 
tain that  the  alcohol  were  the  more  potent  cause,  one  is  met  by 
the  fact  that  Frankie's  uncle  who  was  also  alcohoKc,  marrying  a 
normal  woman,  had  a  normal  child.  Certainly  that  case  fairly 
offsets  Frankie's. 

Nor  is  there  anything  in  the  rest  of  the  seven  cases  that 
offers  anything  stronger  as  an  argument.  Neither  is  the  argu- 
ment stronger  when  the  whole  group  is  considered ;  we  have  to 
remember  that  this  total  group  numbers  seven  out  of  327  cases. 
We  conclude  that  we  are  committing  no  fallacy  of  composition 
when  we  say  that  there  is  not  the  sHghtest  evidence  that  alcohol 
is  the  cause  of  feeble-mindedness  in  these  cases.  Then  we  recall 
the  well-known  fact  that  thousands  of  people  are  alcohoHc  who 


464  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

have  no  feeble-minded  children,  we  are  ready  to  go  further  and 
to  conclude  that  in  these  cases  not  only  is  there  no  evidence,  but 
that  there  is  not  theslightest  probability  that  the  alcohol  is  the 
cause. 

Cases  308  and  309  have  been  put  together  on  the  pos- 
sibihty  of  syphiHs  as  the  causal  factor.  In  neither  of  these  do 
we  Jjave.ac_history  of  syphihs,  altho  in  No.  308  the  family  physi- 
cian  thinks  that  the  father  waFsyphihtic.  In  60th  of  them, 
however,  the  condition  of  the  children  is  one  that  physicians 
everywhere  recognize  as  characteristic  of  syphilitic  parentage, 
namely,  the  non-viable  and  defective  children. 

In  No.  308  there  were  two  miscarriages,  one  was  feeble-minded 
and  one  died  in  infancy,  while  in  309  two  died  in  infancy,  one  was 
feeble-minded,  one  died  at  age  of  nine  and  one  at  the  age  of 
three. 

Except  for  this  recognized  fact  in  regard  to  the  condition  of 
the  children,  there  is  no  argument  in  these  charts  that  syphilis 
is  the  cause  of  the  condition,  hence  it  is  entirely  possible  that  the 
individuals  whose  condition  is  undetermined  may  have  been 
feeble-minded  and  these  might  therefore  be  cases  of  true  heredity. 

Cases  310  and  311  have  apoplexy  in  the  grandparents.  It 
would  seem  as  tho  this  condition  might  possibly  be  a  con- 
tributing cause  in  these  two  cases,  altho  of  course  as  with  all 
of  the  charts  in  this  group,  the  number  of  people  whose  con- 
dition is  undetermined  leaves  it  open  to  grave  doubt  as  to 
whether  there  may  not  be  either  hereditary  feeble-mindedness 
or  other  serious  neuropathic  conditions  in  the  ancestors  which 
would  account  for  the  condition. 

There  remain  1 6  cases  where  the  data  are  too  scanty  to  make  it 
possible  to  suggest  any  cause  whatever  —  Cases  312-327. 

The  reader  will  find  after  perusing  these  charts  that  some  of 
them  suggest  some  probability  of  their  being  hereditary  feeble- 
mindedness, others  neuropathic,  others  perhaps  accident. 

No.  327  for  example,  has  cancer  in  the  maternal  grandfather. 


A  CASE  OF  INSANITY  465 

but  we  have  not  been  able  to  get  the  slightest  indication  that 
cancer  is  in  any  way  connected  with  feeble-mindedness. 

The  same  thing  may  be  said  of  tuberculosis  which  occurs  on 
several  of  these  charts  as  well  as  in  many  others.  We  have  kept 
the  record  of  tuberculosis  very  carefully  but  the  closest  study 
fails  to  reveal  any  causal  connection  between  that  and  feeble- 
mindedness. 

Case  314.  This  is  not  a  case  of  feeble-mindedness  and  strictly 
does  not  belong  in  this  book,  but  we  have  kept  it  in  as  a  good 
illustration  of  the  problem. 

This  child  was  brot  to  The  Training  School  as  feeble-minded, 
but  a  careful  study  of  his  early  history  shows  clearly  that  he  is 
nof  suffering  from  feeble-mindedness  but  from  insanity;  that 
he  was  normal  almost  up  to  adolescence.  It  is  further  interest- 
ing in  this  connection  that  a  study  of  his  family  history  reveals 
no  feeble-mindedness  but  does  show  some  insanity  in  distant 
branches,  also  alcohoHsm,  sexual  immoraHty  and  brain  disease  — 
''paralysis." 

This  case  is  further  suggestive  as  being  very  like  the  cases 
that  are  occasionally  seen  in  Institutions  and  spoken  of  as  idiots 
savants  and  this  would  seem  to  corroborate  the  suggestion  made 
byJ}r^-J^erjiald  that  idiots  savants  are  probably  not  feeble- 
minded but  cases  ol  delTientia  praecox  or  other  forms  of  in- 
sanity. 


CHAPTER   V 
DISCUSSION   OF   THE   DATA 

In  the  following  pages  are  presented  various  groupings  of  the 
facts  given  in  the  case  histories  and  such  tabular  statements  as 
will  help  the  reader  to  understand  the  most  important  relation- 
ships of  those  facts. 

Table  I  shows  the  average  number  of  persons  represented  on 
the  family  charts  of  each  group.  The  actual  number  varies 
greatly,  being  determined  partly  by  the  number  of  members  of 
the  family  that  can  be  found,  partly  by  the  importance  or  lack 
of  it,  of  collateral  branches.  As  a  rule  we  have  attempted  to 
follow  each  family  until  it  was  apparent  that  more  extensive 
survey  would  not  throw  any  further  Kght  on  causes. 

Table  I 


Groups 

Families 
(Charts) 

TOTALlNDIVIDrrALS 

ON  Charts 

Average  No.  of 
Persons  per  Chart 

Hereditary 

Probably  Hereditary   .     .     . 

Neuropathic 

Accident 

No  Cause 

Unclassified 

164 

34 
37 

57 

8 

27 

7937 
1252 
1348 
2086 
299 
789 

48.4 
36.8 
36.4 
36.6 

37.3 
29.2 

Totals 

327 

13711 

41.9 

It  is  interesting  to  see  from  the  Table  that  the  average  is  nearly 
the  same,  36,  for  all  groups  save  the  hereditary  and  the  unclassi- 
fied. The  excess  in  the  former  is  easily  understood.  When 
many  feeble-minded  individuals  are  found  in  a  family  it  is  impor- 

466 


FUNDAMENT.\L  GROUPS 


467 


tant  to  trace  the  history  in  many  directions ;  back,  to  see  if  a  be- 
ginning can  be  discovered ;  into  collateral  lines  to  see  the  effect 
of  bringing  in  new  blood.  Hence  these  families  average  larger 
than  the  others.  There  are  6  famihes  (all  in  the  Hereditary 
Group)  on  which  we  have  made  special  studies  and  the  number 
of  persons  runs  over  a  hundred  each.  In  two  cases  it  is  over 
four  hundred.  One  of  these  is  the  KalHkak  Family  ^  —  not 
reproduced  here  except  in  the  statistics. 

If  we  leave  out  these  6  large  families  our  average  number  of 
persons  per  chart  becomes  39.8  for  the  Hereditary  Group  and 
37.5  for  the  total. 

Each  individual  represented  on  the  chart  is  either:  Normal 
(N) ;  Feeble-minded  (F) ;  Questionably  Normal  (N  ?) ;  Ques- 
tionably Feeble-minded  (F  ?) ;  Cannot  be  decided  ( ?) ;  Unde- 
termined (Un.) ;   Died  in  infancy  (d.  inf.) ;   Miscarriage  (Mis.). 

We  have  made  no  attempt  to  observe  the  medical  distinction 
between  miscarriage  and  abortion.  Still  birth  is  a  miscarriage 
at  9  months.     Died  in  infancy  means  died  under  2  years. 

The  following  Tables  show  the  number  of  these  in  the  different 
groups. 

Table  II 


Group 

Charts 

Total  Persons 

n' 

F 

N? 

F? 

? 

Un. 

D.  INF. 

Mis. 

H. 

164 

7937 

1323 

1717 

.93 

31 

182 

3602 

714 

275 

P.H. 

34 

1252 

393 

78 

9 

8 

6 

628 

74 

56 

Neu. 

37 

1348 

516 

44 

8 

0 

19 

632 

92 

37 

Ace. 

57 

2086 

1289 

69 

3 

2 

7 

553 

130 

33 

N.C. 

8 

299 

217 

10 

0 

0 

0 

54 

15 

3 

Unci. 

27 

789 

258 

28 

2 

0 

2 

423 

64 

12 

Totals 

327 

13711 

3996 

1946 

115 

41 

216 

5892 

1089 

416 

The  1946  feeble-minded  are  by  sex  1041  males,  889  females 
and  16  sex  unknown. 

^  See  The  KalHkak  Family  —  Macmillan,  191 2. 


468 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


Omitting  from  the  table  the  Unclassified  Group,  and  subtract- 
ing from  the  total  persons  in  each  group  the  miscarriages  and 
those  who  died  in  infancy,  we  have  the  following  Table  showing 
the  number  who  survived  the  second  year  and  the  percentage 
the  survivors  in  each  group  are  of  the  total  survivors,  and  the 
percentage  of  each  group  that  survived. 

Table  III 


Group 

Total  Persons 

No.  who  Survived 

%  of  Each  Group 
WHO  Survived 

%  WHO  Survived 

Hereditary 
Probably  H. 
Neuropathic 
Accident     . 
No  Cause  . 

7937 
1252 

1348 

2086 

299 

6868 
"15 

I2I2 

I913 
281 

86.5 
89.0 

89.9 
91.7 

93-9 

60.3 

9-7 
10.6 

16.7 

2.4 

Totals 

12922 

II389 

83.0 

lOO.O 

The  last  column  of  this  Table  shows  that  60.3  %  of  all  persons 
charted  (except  as  above  noted)  are  in  the  Hereditary  Group, 
9.7%  are  in  the  Probably  Hereditary,  10.6%  are  in  the  Neuro- 
pathic, 16.7  %  are  in  the  Accident,  and  2.4%  are  in  the  No  Cause 
Group.  These  percentages  will  be  used  for  comparison  in  later 
tables. 

These  ^yq  fundamental  groups  (the  sixth,  being  the  unclassified, 
is  omitted  from  most  of  our  Tables)  will  be  again  subdivided  for 
study  purposes,  according  to  the  mentality  of  the  parents  as 
follows : 

The  first  letter  in  each  case  indicates  the  father. 

Both  feeble-minded  (abbreviated  F  —  F) ;  father  normal, 
mother  feeble-minded  (N  —  F) ;  the  reverse  (F  —  N) ;  father 
undetermined  and  mother  normal  (Un. — N),  and  the  reverse 
(N  —  Un.) ;  father  unknown  and  mother  feeble-minded  (Un.  — 
F),  and  the  reverse  (F  —  Un.) ;  both  normal  (N  —  N) ;  both 
undetermined  (Un.  —  Un.) ;    nine  groups  in  all. 


CONDITION  OF  CHILDREN 


469 


Table   IV 

SHOWING    IN    EACH    GROUP    THE   CONDITION    OF    THE    CHILDREN    FOR    EACH 

KIND    OF   MATING 


Hereditary  Group 


1 

No.  OF 
Matings 

Per 

Condition 

OF  Chile 

REN 

Parents 

Children 

Mating 

%F 

,%N 

%  d.  inf. 

%Mis. 

%Un. 

F— F    .... 

144 

749 

5-2 

63-5 

0.8 

14.9 

4.9 

15-7 
30.6 

F— Un.    .   . 

83 

346 

4.2 

49.1 

8.3 

9.2 

2.6 

Un.  — F   .   . 

216 

1020 

4.7 

34.4 

7-5 

16.0 

8.4 

33-5 

N— F      .  . 

54 

247 

4.6 

35-2 

19.0 

lO.I 

9-3 

26.3 

F— N      . 

46 

243 

5.3 

24.2 

33-3 

16.4 

9.8 

16.0 

N— N     . 

100 

470 

4.7 

7.2 

58.2 

8.7 

5-7 

20.0 

Un.  — N  . 

172 

640 

3-7 

9.2 

49.8 

10.7 

1.8 

28.2 

N— Un.  . 

100 

383 

3-8 

7.0 

65.0 

8.1 

2.1 

17.7 
46.2 

Un.  — Un. 

430 

2033 

4-7 

20.3 

20.4 

9.4 

3-7 

Totals  . 

1345 

6131 

4-5 

27-3 

24.4 

-.5 

4.9 

31.8 

Neuropathic  Groui 

) 

N— N .... 
Un.-N   .  .  . 
N— Un    .  .   . 
Un.  — Un.    .   . 

34 
64 

55 

194 
254 
los 
251 

5-7 
4.0 

3-2 
4.6 

10.8 

5-1 

2.8 
2.7 

47-9 
57-0 
76.1 

45-4 

14.4 
9.8 
9.6 
6.7 

12.8 

5-1 
1.9 

2.7 

13.9 

22.8 

9.6 

42.2 

Totals  .   .   . 

186 

804 

4-3 

5-4 

53-7 

9.9 

5-8 

25.0 

Accident 

Group 

N— N .... 

141 

670 

4-7 

6.5 

73-1 

9-4 

2.2 

8.6 

Un.-N.  .  .   . 

92 

352 

3-8 

3.6 

78.9 

5-3 

t)-5 

5-3 

N— Un.    .   .  . 

70 

224 

3-2 

0.8 

86.1 

3-1 

0.4 

9-3 

Un.  — Un.    .   . 

57 

249 

4.4 

2.8 

52.2 

10.8 

2.0 

32.1 

F— N    .... 

I 

6 

6.0 

16.6 

83.3 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

Totals  .   .   . 

361 

1501 

4.1 

4.4 

73-0 

7-7 

1    '■' 

11.8 

470 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


Table  IV  —  Continued 

SHOWING   IN   EACH    GROUP   THE   CONDITION   OF   THE   CHILDREN   FOR   EACH 
KIND   OF   MATING 


No  Cause  Group 


Parents 

No.  OF 
Matings 

Total 
Children 

Per 

Mating 

Condition  of  Children 

%F 

%N 

%  d.  inf. 

%  Mis. 

%Un. 

N— N .... 
Un.  — N   .  .  . 
N— Un.    .   .  . 
Un.— Un.    .  . 

26 

12 
II 
II 

128 
36 
26 
41 

4.9 
3-0 
2-3 
3-7 

6.2 
0.0 
0.0 
4.8 

77-3 

94.4 

1 00.0 

80.4 

7.0 
2.7 
0.0 
0.0 

2.3 
0.0 
0.0 
0.0 

7.0 

2.7 

0.0 

14.6 

Totals  .  .   . 

60 

231 

3-8 

4.3 

83.1 

4-3 

1.2 

6.9 

Unclassified  Group 


N— N .... 

17 

93 

5-4 

6.4 

59.1 

5-3 

8.6 

20.4 

Un.— N   .  .  . 

26 

94 

3-6 

7-4 

64.8 

6.3 

I.O 

20.2 

N— Un.    .  .   . 

13 

59 

4.5 

8.4 

71. 1 

15.2 

1.6 

3-3 

Un.— Un.    .   . 

50 

204 

4.0 

4.4 

35-2 

10.2 

0.4 

49-5 

Totals  .   .   . 

106 

450 

4.2 

6.0 

5I-I 

9.1 

2.4 

3^-3 

Totals 


Hereditary    1 
Probably  H.  J 

1345 

6131 

4-5 

27-3 

24.4 

II-5 

4.9 

31.8 

Neuropathic 

186 

804 

4.3 

5-4 

53-7 

9.9 

5.8 

25.0 

Accident 

361 

1 501 

4.1 

4.4 

73-0 

7-7 

2.9 

11.8 

No  Cause 

60 

231 

3-8 

4-3 

83.1 

4-3 

1.2 

6.9 

Unclassified 

106 

450 

4.2 

6.0 

5I-I 

9.1 

2.4 

31-3 

Grand  Total 

2058 

9117 

4.4 

20.0 

37-7 

10.4 

4.4 

27-3 

If  we  subtract  from  the  total  children  the  deaths  in  infancy 
and  the  miscarriages  we  get  the  number  of  children  per  mating 
who  survived  infancy. 


EXPLANATION  OF  TABLE  IV  471 

This  for  each  group  is  as  follows : 

Heredity   3.8  Neuropathic  3.6  Accident  3.7 

No  Cause  3.6  Unclassified  3.7  Total       3.7 

Explanation  of  Table  IV.  The  fundamental  groups  are 
indicated  by  the  headings  Hereditary,  etc.  (In  this  Table  and 
elsewhere,  when  no  Proh.  Hered.  group  is  given,  it  has  been  com- 
bined with  the  certainly  Hereditary,  to  make  one  Hereditary 
Group.) 

The  first  column  shows  the  mental  condition  of  the  parents. 

The  second  column  the  number  of  matings  in  the  group. 

The  third  column  shows  the  number  of  offspring  from  those 
matiiigs. 

The  fourth  column  shows  the  number  of  offspring  per 
mating. 

The  remaining  columns  give  the  percentage  of  the  children 
that  were  feeble-minded,  normal,  died  in  infancy,  miscarriages 
and  mentaHty  undetermined.  E.g.  the  first  Hne  of  the  Table 
shows  that  in  the  Hereditary  Group  there  were  144  matings  where 
the  parents  were  both  feeble-minded  (F  —  F).  These  144  mat- 
ings resulted  in  749  offspring,  an  average  of  5.2%  offspring  per 
mating,  63.5  %  of  these  offspring  were  feeble-minded ;  0.8  %  were 
normal;  14.9%  died  in  infancy;  4.9%  were  miscarriages  and 
15-7%  were  of  undetermined  mentality. 

Cautions.  Owing  to  the  incompleteness  of  our  data  certain  cau- 
tions are  necessary  in  using  the  Tables.  E.g.  in  Table  IV  are  given 
the  per  cent  of  miscarriages  and  deaths  in  infancy.  These  figures 
are  not  directly  comparable  with  the  usual  statistics  on  these  two 
items. 

First:  ''died  in  infancy"  includes  all  under  trdoo  years  instead 
of  under  one  year  as  is  more  frequent.  We  have  followed  in 
this  the  recommendations  of  the  committee  of  the  American 
Association  for  the  Study  of  the  Feeble-minded.  (See  Eugenics 
Record  Office  Bulletin  No.  2.) 


472 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


Second :  in  Table  IV  (and  others)  the  matings  and  children 
include  those  in  earher  generations  as  well  as  the  present.  Ex- 
perience indicates  that  we  do  not  get  all  the  miscarriages  and 
probably  not  all  of  the  ''died  in  infancy"  in  the  earher  genera- 
tions. They  have  been  so  thoroly  forgotten  that  they  are  not 
reported.  Hence  our  ''total  children"  is  more  nearly  total 
surviving  children.  Our  "children  per  mating"  is  more  nearly 
the  average  number  per  mating  suroiving.  These  facts  will 
account  for  the  difference  between  our  figures  and  those  usually 
given  for  the  general  population. 

The  following  Table  gives  the  corresponding  figures  for  the 
present  generation  and  the  immediate  family  of  "our  child." 
These  can  be  reHed  on  as  correct  to  a  high  degree. 

Table  V 

SHOWING    THE    DISTRIBUTION    OF    OUR   CHILDREN    AND    THEIR    SIBS    IN    THE 
FIVE   FUNDAMENTAL   GROUPS 


Condition  of  Children  . 

No.  OF 
Matings 

Total 
Children 

Per 

Mating 

F 

N 

? 

d.  inf. 

Mis. 

Un. 

Hereditary 

164 

978 

5-9 

403 

82 

32 

182 

135 

144 

Probably  H. 

34 

161 

4-7 

47 

27 

2 

9 

37 

39 

Neuropathic 

37 

201 

5-4 

43 

75 

2 

29 

27 

25 

Accident 

57 

272 

4.7 

58 

152 

2 

?>Z 

13 

14 

No  Cause 

8 

46 

5.7 

8 

31 

0 

3 

3 

I 

Unclassified 

27 

118 

4-3 

26 

34 

I 

19 

10 

28 

Totals 

327 

1776 

5-4 

585 

401 

39 

275 

225 

251 

In  the  foregoing  Table  is  given  the  average  children  per  mating. 
If  we  wish,  however,  to  get  an  idea  of  the  fecundity  of  these 
groups  of  women  we  must  make  some  corrections.  Many  of 
these  women  have  had  more  than  one  mate  (legal  or  other- 
wise) ;  a  few  have  been  deserted  or  died  early. 

Making  these  corrections  we  get  the  following  : 


DISEASES  AND  CONDITIONS 


473 


Group 

No.  Mothers 

No.  Children 

Average 

Hereditary 

Probably  Hereditary       .     . 

Neuropathic 

Accident 

No  Cause 

Unclassified 

139 

27 

36 

50 

8 

27 

992 

i68 
204 
258 
46 
118 

7-1 
6.2 

5-6 
5-1 
5-7 
4.3 

Totals 

287 

1786 

6.2 

In  addition  to  the  mentaKty,  whether  normal  or  feeble-minded, 
record  has  been  kept  of  certain  diseases  and  conditions  supposed 
to  be  more  or  less  associated  with  feeble-mindedness  in  a  causal 
relation.     These  are  the  following  : 

I.  Alcohol  (A) ;  2.  Tuberculosis  (T) ;  3.  Sexual  immoraHty 
(Sx.) ;  4.  Paralysis  (Par.) ;  5.  Insanity  (I) ;  6.  Epilepsy  (E) ; 
7.  Neurotic  condition  (Neu.) ;  8.  Syphilis  (Sy) ;  9.  Criminahty 
(C) ;  10.  Deafness  (D) ;  11.  Blindness  (B) ;  12.  Migraine  (M) ; 
13.  Goitre  (G) ;  i4>^Vagrancv  (W).  Records  have  been  kept 
besides  of  Inmates  of  other  Institutions,  and  Illegitimate  children. 

Table  VI  shows  the  distribution  of  these  conditions  in  the 
fundamental  groups.  The  corresponding  percentages  will  be 
found  with  each  topic  as  it  is  taken  up. 


Table  VI 


Group 

A  ;  T 

Sx. 

Par. 

I 

E 

Neu. 

Sy 

c 

D 

B 

M 

G 

w 

In 

Inst. 

Illeg. 
Ch. 

H. 

272 

187 

258 

58 

54 

56 

22 

35 

37 

23 

28 

4 

3 

4 

119 

259 

P.H. 

29 

59 

8 

19 

20 

5 

23 

3 

5 

5 

I 

2 

3 

0 

12 

12 

Neu. 

33 

36 

17 

46 

32 

13 

15 

4 

3 

II 

3 

7 

I 

I 

16 

3 

Ace. 

29 

39 

5 

22 

4 

4 

II 

3 

0 

6 

2 

0 

0 

2 

2 

4 

N.C. 

2!      3 

0 

6 

0 

I 

C 

I 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

Unci. 

10     20 

5 

3 

9 

0 

4 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

I 

0 

8 

I 

Totals 

375  344 

293 

154 

119 

79 

75 

46 

45 

45 

34 

13 

8 

7 

157 

279 

These  sixteen  conditions  will  now  be  considered  in  the  Hght  of 
our  data. 


474 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


ALCOHOLISM 


This  chapter  does  not  enter  into  a  full  discussion  of  the 
question  of  alcohol  but  merely  presents  our  data  so  that  the 
reader  may  see  for  himself  what  they  show  on  this  question. 

Tables  VII,  VIII,  IX,  X  show  the  facts  as  we  have  been  able 
to  work  them  out.  We  have  not  included  any  cases  that  are 
complicated  by  the  presence  of  Sy,  I,  Par.,  and  E.  As  already 
shown  in  a  previous  chapter  on  the  analysis  and  classification 
of  the  cases  we  have  no  family  charts  upon  which  there  is  conclu- 
sive evidence  that  the  condition  of  the  child  in  question  was  due 
to  alcohol.  There  are  a  few  charts  in  which  there  is  much  alco- 
holism in  the  family  and  one  is  led  to  ask  —  Did  not  the  alcohol 
cause  the  feeble-mindedness  in  these  cases  ?  But  when  we  look 
closer  we  find  that  it  is  impossible  to  draw  that  conclusion  logi- 
cally, because  not  enough  is  known  about  the  other  conditions 
of  the  family.  In  many  cases  it  is  not  known  but  that  the  alco- 
holic father  or  mother  may  have  been  also  feeble-minded.  In 
the  entire  group  of  charts  where  hereditary  feeble-mindedness 
prevails,  it  is  of  course  not  possible  to  draw  any  conclusion  in 
regard  to  alcohol  since  the  feeble-mindedness  of  the  ancestors  is 
the  all  sufficient  cause  of  the  feeble-mindedness  of  the  child. 
We  must  look  for  any  arguments  to  be  found  in  the  Neuropathic 
Ancestry  or  the  Accident  Group. 

Alcoholism  at  the  Time  of  Conception.  Many  people  be- 
lieve that  the  condition  of  the  father  or  the  mother  in  reference 
to  alcohol  at  the  time  of  conception  is  significant.  Such  per- 
sons are,  as  a  rule,  ignorant  of  the  principles  of  modern  biology 
and  their  opinion  is  based  upon  an  incomplete  understanding 
of  the  processes  by  which  a  new  organism  is  formed.  One  of 
the  best  demonstrated  facts  in  biology  is  that  the  germ  cell  is 
most  carefully  protected  from  all  injurious  influences,  it  lives 
what  someone  has  termed  a  "charmed  existence."  That  any 
amount  of  alcohol  which  a  father  had  taken  immediately  pre- 


ALCOHOLISM  AT  CONCEPTION  475 

vious  to  the  conception  of  a  child  could  so  permeate  the  system 
as  to  reach  the  germ  cell  and  so  affect  it  that  the  result  would 
be  shown  in  the  offspring  is  well  nigh  inconceivable  from  a  bio- 
logical standpoint. 

Dr.  Stockard  has  indeed  shown  that,  if  the  eggs  of  fish  are  placed 
in  a  solution  of  alcohol  within  a  short  time  after  fertiHzation, 
monstrosities  result.  But  no  one,  so  far  as  the  writer  knows,  has 
shown  that  the  spermatozoa  of  any  animal,  placed  in  an  alcoholic 
solution  and  then  allowed  to  fertihze  the  ova,  transmit  any  pecu- 
liarity whatever  to  the  offspring. 

Ireland  makes  the  statement  that  in  the  villages  in  Scotland 
where  the  whole  population  gets  drunk  at  New  Year,  or  at  the 
time  of  the  return  of  the  fishermen,  "No  one  has  noticed  that 
there  is  an  excess  of  defectives  born  nine  months  after  this 
time";  this  argument  has  never  been  answered.  It  has  been 
asserted  that  in  somewhat  similar  conditions  in  Switzerland  there 
are  more  defectives ;  but  in  this  case  other  factors  have  not  been 
eliminated.  Therefore  Ireland's  argument  stands.  He  says, 
page  21  :  "The  children  of  drunken  parents  in  many  cases  have 
an  unhealthy  nervous  system,  they  are  weak,  unsteady  and  ex- 
citable,and  often  have  a  diseased  craving  for  spirituous  Hquors, 
but  in  my  opinion  idiocy  is  not  the  ordinary  legacy  which  drunk- 
ards leave  to  their  children." 

Tredgold  says,  page  19,  after  quoting  Dr.  Ireland's  state- 
ment above  referred  to,  "  I  have  histories  of  idiots  conceived  under 
such  circumstances,  but  so  I  have  of  normal  children,  and  my 
opinion  is,  that  while  this  may  be  a  cause  in  some  cases,  the 
number  of  instances  in  this  country  at  any  rate  is  exceedingly 
small."  So  far  as  our  field  workers  have  been  able  to  get  any 
information  it  would  tend  to  confirm  the  above  view. 

The  Children  of  the  Habitual  Drunkard.  Passing  from 
the  question  of  alcohoHsm  at  the  time  of  conception  to  the 
general  question  of  alcoholism  as  a  cause  of  mental  defect,  we 
will  first  examine  the  parents  of  our  own  children. 


476 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


The  following  Table  shows  the  condition  of  the  parents  of  our 
children  in  regard  to  alcohol,  paralysis,  epilepsy,  insanity  and 
syphilis,  and  the  percentage  of  their  children  that  were  normal, 
feeble  minded,  etc. 

Table  VII 

SHOWING    THE    CONDITION   OF   PARENTS   OF   OUR    CHILDREN    IN  REGARD   TO 

ALCOHOL,    ETC. 

Hereditary  Group  —  164  Cases 


Condition  of  Parents 

No.  OF 
Matings 

Total 
Children 

Condition  of  Children 

%F 

%N 

%  ? 

%  d.  inf. 

%  Mis. 

Un. 

NonA     .     .     . 

A     .     .     . 

Par.,  E,  I,  or  Sy 

78 

57 

29 

449 
365 
164 

3V 
40.2 

48.7 

9.5 
6.3 
9-7 

4.0 
3-0 
1.7 

16.0 

22.5 
17.0 

14.2 
16.I 

7-3 

16.9 
II.8 
15.2 

Totals 

164 

978 

41.2 

8.3 

3.2 

18.6 

13-8 

14.7 

Probably  Hereditary  Group  —  34  Cases 


NonA     .     .     . 

A     .     .     . 

Par.,  E,  I,  or  Sy 

16 

7 
II 

81 
29 
51 

28.3 
30-7 
29.4 

22.2 

3-4 

15.7 

3-9 

1.2 

3-4 

13.7 

30.8 

24.1 

9.8 

17-3 
37.9 
27.4 

Totals 

34 

161 

29.1 

16.7 

1.2 

5-5 

22.9 

24.2 

Neuropathic  Group  —  37  Cases 


NonA     .     .     . 

A     .     .     . 

Par.,  E,  I,  or  Sy 

17 

7 
13 

72 
52 

77 

26.3 
17-3 
19.4 

40.2 
42.2 
3I-I 

2.5 

9.8 

13-4 
19.4 

9.8 
11.6 

13.8 

5-7 

iS-5 

Totals 

37 

201 

21.3 

37-3 

0.9 

14.4 

13-4 

12.4 

Accident  Group  —  57  Cases 


NonA     .     .     . 

A     .     .     . 

Par.,  E,  I,  or  Sy 

41 
9 

7 

191 
51 
30 

21.4 
19.6 
23-3 

58.1 
52.9 
46.6 

I.O 

II-5 
7.8 

23.3 

3.6 
9.8 

4.1 
9.8 

Totals 

57 

272 

21.3 

55.8 

0.6 

12. 1 

4-7 

5.1 

ALCOHOLIC   PARENTS 
Table  VII  —  Continued 


477 


SHOWING    THE    CONDITION    OF   PARENTS    OF    OUR    CHILDREN   IN   REGARD    TO 

ALCOHOL,    ETC. 

No  Cause  Group  —  8  Cases 


Condition  of  Parents 

No.  OF 
Matings 

Total 
Children 

Condition  of  Children 

%F 

%N 

%? 

%  d.  inf. 

%Mis. 

Un. 

NonA     .     .     . 
A     .     .     . 

8 
o 

46 

0 

17.4 
0 

67.4 
0 

0 
0 

6.5 
0 

6.5 

0 

2.1 
0 

Totals 

NonA     .      .     . 

A     .     .     . 

Par.,  E,  I,  or  Sy 

i6o 

8o 

.       6o 

839 
497 
322 

31.8 
35-2 
36.3 

27.6 
14.6 
19.2 

2.3 
2.2 
2.1 

12.5 
18.9 
17.7 

12.6 

16.4 

8.3 

12.9 
12.4 
16.I 

Grand  Totals 

300 

1658 

33-7 

22.1 

^■?> 

15-4 

12.7 

134 

Explanation  of  Table  VII.  —  The  first  Kne  reads  as  follows : 
In  the  Hereditary  Group  78  of  our  children  had  parents  who  were 
not  alcohoHc.  These  parents  had  449  children  (including 
^^our  chiW).  Of  these  children  39.1%  were  feeble-minded; 
9.5  %  were  normal,  etc. 

It  will  be  noted  that  in  the  totals  the  percentage  of  feeble- 
minded steadily  decreases  as  we  go  thru  the  groups,  from  41.2 
in  Hereditary  to  29.1,  21.3  and  21.3  while  the  percentage  of 
normal  goes  up  from  8.3  in  Hereditary  to  16.7,  37.3  and  55.8. 

The  percentage  of  feeble-minded  is  slightly  greater  in  the 
alcohoHc  group  than  in  the  non-alcohoHc,  in  the  Hereditary  and 
Probably  H.  groups,  but  in  the  other  two  groups  it  is  less. 

There  seems  to  be  no  conclusion  to  be  drawn  from  the  data  in 
this  form,  as  regards  the  effect  of  alcohol. 

Of  our  310^  children  comprising  this  study,  80  have  parents 

1  Omitting  the  unclassified  there  are  300  matings;  ten  of  these  have  two  chil- 
dren each  in  the  Training  School. 


478  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

one  or  both  of  whom  are  alcoholic.  In  i8  cases  or  5.5  %  the 
mother  was  alcoholic,  and  in  10  cases  father  and  mother  both  were 
alcohohc.  Of  the  1 8  cases  all  but  one  are  in  the  Hereditary  Group. 
That  one,  Case  268,  has  been  placed  in  the  Accident  Group 
(causes  acting  after  birth)  since  the  child  herself  was  fed  on  alcohol 
from  infancy  and  was  known  to  have  been  often  drunk.  Altho 
we  cannot  be  sure  that  there  was  not  hereditary  feeble-minded- 
ness  here,  yet  the  probabiHties  seem  to  be  against  it,  and  one  has 
a  strong  feehng  that  without  the  alcohol  the  child  would  have 
been  normal.  There  is  not,  therefore,  a  single  case  among  our 
children  in  which  it  can  be  said  that  the  alcohoHsm  of  the  mother 
was  clearly  the  cause  of  the  feeble-mindedness  of  the  child. 

These  18  cases  are  Nos.  i,  4,  8,  44,  46,  53,  57,  62,  73,  74,  87, 
95,  124,  125,  151,  156,  191,  268. 

The  question  naturally  arises  as  to  the  mentahty  of  these 
cases,  whether  or  not  the  alcohol  in  the  mother,  if  it  has  not  pro- 
duced feeble-mindedness,  may  still  be  credited  with  having  pro- 
duced a  lower  grade  of  feeble-mindedness  than  would  otherwise 
have  occurred.  While  this  study  gives  no  positive  answer  to 
this,  yet  it  reveals  the  following:  of  the  18  under  discussion  5 
are  of  the  moron  grade,  1 1  of  the  imbecile,  2  of  the  idiots.  This 
is  approximately  the  usual  distribution  of  a  group  of  cases,  with 
a  Httle  preponderance  in  favor  of  the  higher  grade.  From  this 
there  is  no  evidence  that  the  alcohol  has  even  lowered  the  grade 
of  the  child.  Two  of  these  cases  are  among  the  highest  grade 
children  in  the  Institution. 

If  alcohol  in  the  mother,  where  it  conceivably  might  affect  the 
fetus  thru  the  mother's  nutrition,  does  not  produce  feeble-minded- 
ness or  does  not  lower  the  grade  of  the  children,  it  would  not  seem 
likely  that  the  father's  alcohoUsm,  which  can  only  affect  the 
offspring  thru  his  germ  cells,  could  produce  feeble-mindedness. 

The  reader  will  note  that  this  conclusion  is  not  that  alcohoHsm 
of  the  mother  does  not  cause  feeble-mindedness  in  the  child, 
but  simply  that  the  fact  is  not  proved  from  our  data. 


ALCOHOLIC  FATHERS  479 

There  remain  62  of  our  children  whose  fathers  are  alcoholic ; 
47  of  these  are  in  the  Hereditary  Group;  7  are  in  the  Neuro- 
pathic; 8  are  in  the  Accident.  Table  VII  shows  that  in  the 
Non-hereditary  Groups  these  A  parents  have  a  smaller  percent- 
age of  feeble-minded  children  than  the  Non-A  parents  in  the 
same  groups.  In  both  the  number  of  alcohoHcs  is  small.  In  no 
case  is  the  alcohoHsm  of  the  parent  given,  by  parent  or  physician, 
as  the  cause  of  the  child's  condition.  In  every  case  there  is  a 
cause  given  that  is  more  generally  accepted  than  the  alcohol. 
It  is,  of  course,  possible  that  the  alcohoKsm  of  the  fathers  may 
have  rendered  the  children  more  susceptible  to  the  conditions 
in  some  of  the  cases.  For  example  in  the  Accident  Group,  one 
case  is  that  of  a  hydrocephahc  boy  (No.  278),  one  is  a  meningitis 
case  (No.  281),  two  are  MongoHan  imbeciles  (Nos.  250,  260), 
one  is  a  case  of  ''medicine"  administered  to  produce  abortion 
(No.  239),  another  is  a  case  of  supposed  lead  poisoning  (No.  247), 
another  is  typhoid  fever  (No.  266)  and  another  spastic  paralysis 
(No.  272). 

We  are  therefore  compelled  to  admit  that  so  far  as  our  own 
children  are  concerned  we  cannot  prove  that  alcohol  caused  their 
feeble-mindedness  in  the  Non-hereditary  Groups  any  more  than 
in  the  Hereditary. 

That  alcohol  causes  deaths  and  miscarriages  is  nowhere  more 
convincingly  shown  than  in  Table  VII.  Referring  as  it  does  to 
our  own  children  —  the  present  generation  —  the  statistics  of 
deaths  in  infancy  and  miscarriages  are  very  rehable.  A  study  of 
these  figures  shows  a  considerably  higher  percentage  wherever 
the  number  of  ma  tings  is  great  enough  to  give  a  fair  average. 
This  is  corroborated  so  far  as  the  difference  between  alcohohc 
and  non-alcoholic  is  concerned,  by  the  figures  of  Table  IX, 
which  covers  all  matings. 

We  turn  now  from  our  own  children  and  their  parents  to  a  con- 
sideration of  all  the  persons  on  all  the  charts,  in  relation  to  alcohol. 

A  count  of  all  the  charts  gives  us  the  following : 


48o  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

Table  VIII 

Of  6868  Persons  in  Hereditary  Group     272  or  3.96%  are  Alcoholic 

Of  II 15  Persons  in  Probably  H.  Group    29  or  2.60%  are  Alcoholic 

Of  1 21 2  Persons  in  Neuropathic  Group    S3  or  2.72%  are  Alcoholic 

Of  1913  Persons  in  Accident  Group          29  or  1.51%  are  Alcoholic 

Of  281  Persons  in  No  Cause  Group           2  or  0.10%  are  Alcoholic 

Of  1 1389  Persons  in  all  Groups  365  or  3.20%  are  Alcoholic 

'' Alcoholic"  thruout  this  study  means  drunkard. 

Table  VIII  shows  us  the  number  of  each  group  that  are  alco- 
hoHc  and  the  per  cent  that  this  is  of  the  total  group.  Refer- 
ring to  the  figures  we  see  that  a  larger  percentage  of  the  Heredi- 
tary Group  are  alcohohc  than  is  found  in  any  other  group,  and 
larger  than  the  average  of  all  the  groups.  Practically  4  % 
(3.96  % )  of  all  persons  Hsted  in  the  Hereditary  Group  are  alco- 
hohc, while  of  the  281  persons  in  the  group  where  we  can  find  no 
cause  for  the  condition  of  feeble-mindedness,  only  .1  of  i  %  are 
alcoholic.  This  of  course  agrees  exactly  with  what  we  would 
expect. 

If  there  is  no  influence  producing  alcoholism  in  one  group  more 
than  another  these  365  cases  should  be  found  in  the  different 
groups  in  the  proportion  of  the  whole  number  of  persons  in  those 
groups  or  60.3  :  9.7  :  10.6  :  16.7  :  2.4.  (See  Table  III  for  the 
H.,  P.  H.,  Neu.,  Ace.  and  N.  C.  Groups  respectively.) 

For  example,  if  all  of  the  alcohoHcs  were  proportionately 
divided  among  the  groups  we  should  expect  220  in  the  Heredi- 
tary Group.  There  are  really  272,  that  is,  there  are  52  more 
persons  in  this  group  than  an  even  distribution  would  warrant, 
which  means  that  there  is  some  influence  in  the  situation 
producing  more  alcohohcs  in  this  group  than  in  the  others. 
What  that  something  is,  is  the  lack  of  control  characteristic  of 
those  persons  that  belong  to  famiHes  where  there  is  hereditary 
feeble-mindedness. 

The  following  table  shows  what  would  be  expected  compared 
with  what  we  actually  find. 


ALCOHOLIC  AND   NON-ALCOHOLIC   PARENTS 


481 


Group 

Expectation 

Actual 

Too  Many 

Too  Few 

Hereditary 

Probably  Hereditary    .     . 

Neuropathic 

Accident 

No  Cause 

220 
36 
39 
61 

9 

272 
29 

33 

29 

2 

52 

7 
6 

32 

7 

A  decided  relation  between  Alcoholism  and  Hereditary  Feeble- 
mindedness !     Is  it  a  causal  relation  ?     If  so,  which  is  cause 

and  which  is  effect  ? 

Table  IX 

COMPARING    THE  FAMILIES  OF  ALCOHOLIC  AND    NON-ALCOHOLIC    PARENTS    OF 
THE    SAME    MENTAL   CONDITION 


Hereditary  Cases 


Condi 

riON 

ENTS 

No.  OF 
Matings 

Total 
Children 

Per 
Mating 

Condition  of  Chh.dren 

OF  Par 

%F 

%N 

%d.  inf. 

%  Mis. 

%Un. 

F  — F 

{NonA 
1         A 

90 

36 

445 
216 

4.9 
6.0 

66.7 
59-2 

0.7 
0.9 

14.4 
14.8 

3-5 
6.9 

14.6 

18.5 

N— F 

jNonA 
1         A 

45 

5 

204 
16 

4-5 
3-2 

31.8 
56.2 

21.5 
18.7 

8.7 
18.7 

9-7 
0.0 

27.8 
6.2 

F— N 

/NonA 
1          A 

31 
12 

142 
78 

4-5 
6.5 

23.0 
26.9 

39-4 
29.4 

14.7 

21.7 

4.2 
7.6 

18.3 

I4.I 

Un— F 

jNonA 
1         A 

142 
53 

561 

337 

3-9 
6.3 

35-4 
3I-I 

9.9 
5.6 

I3-I 
21.6 

6.9 
11.8 

35-2 
29.6 

F— Un 

{NonA 
i          A 

59 
14 

237 
65 

4.0 
4-6 

50.6 
50.7 

10.5 
3-0 

7-1 
15-3 

2.1 
4.6 

29.5 
26.1 

N— N 

NonA 
A 

92 
4 

433 
19 

4-7 
4-7 

6.6 

5-2 

60.4 
21.0 

8.5 
15-7 

3.6 
42.1 

21. 1 
15-7 

Un— N 

(NonA 
I          A 

146 
19 

488 
117 

3-3 
6.0 

6.9 
14.5 

55.9 
28.2 

7-7 
23-9 

1.2 

2.5 

28.0 
30.7 

N— Un 

(NonA 
I          A 

87 
4 

316 
20 

3-6 

5-0 

4.1 
19.9 

70.5 
29.9 

5-3 
14.9 

2.5 
0.0 

17.4 
34-9 

Un— Un 

[NonA 
i         A 

328 
54 

1446 
279 

4.4 
5-1 

20.4 
25.8 

23.0 
12.8 

7-9 
16.8 

3-1 
6.4 

45-2 
38.7 

Totals 

[NonA 
i         A 

1020 
201 

4272 
1147 

4.1 

5-7 

25-4 
33-^ 

29.7 
II. I 

9.2 
18.8 

3-7 
8.1 

31.6 
28.0 

2  I 


482 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


Table  IX  —  Continued 

COMPARING   THE   FAMILIES   OF   ALCOHOLIC   AND   NON-ALCOHOLIC  PARENTS 
OF  THE   SAME   MENTAL  CONDITION 

Neuropathic  Cases 


CONDIl 

ION 

ENTS 

No.  OF 

Matings 

Total 
Children 

Per 

Mating 

Condition  of  Children 

OF  Par 

%F 

%N 

%d.inf. 

%  Mis. 

%Un. 

N— N 

[NonA 
I         A 

21 

4 

IIO 
32 

5-2 
8.0 

9.0 
9.3 

49.0 
56.2 

13-6 
3-1 

6.3 
31.2 

21.8 
0.0 

Un— N 

(NonA 
i         A 

44 
6 

127 
30 

2.9 
5-0 

3-9 
20.0 

68.5 
43-3 

3-9 
20.0 

6.2 

3-3 

17.3 
13-3 

N— Un 

[NonA 
I         A 

26 

76 
2 

2.9 
2.0 

2.6 
0.0 

89.4 

lOO.O 

0.0 
0.0 

0.0 
0.0 

7.8 
0.0 

Un— Un 

[NonA 
i         A 

32 
2 

122 

9 

3.8 
4-5 

1.6 
0.0 

59-8 
II. I 

2.4 
0.0 

4.9 
0.0 

3I-I 
88.9 

Totals 

NonA 

i         A 

123 
13 

435 
73 

3-5 
5.6 

4-3 
12.3 

64.8 
46.5 

5-2 
9-5 

4.8 
15.0 

20.6 
16.4 

Accident  Cases 


N-N     jN°"^ 

130 
3 

614 

17 

4-7 

5-7 

6.1 
17.6 

72.9 
70.5 

9.7 

5.8 

2.2 
0.0 

8.7 
5.8 

Un-N    1^°"^ 
A 

80 
8 

302 
32 

3-7 
4.0 

1.9 
15.6 

83.7 
56.2 

3-9 
9-3 

5-9 
12.4 

4-3 
6.2 

^T      TT      [NonA 
N-Un    1          ^ 

66 
0 

206 

3-1 

0.4 

87.8 

2.9 

0.4 

8.7 

Un-Unj'^""^ 

44 
3 

177 
17 

4.0 

5-7 

2.2 
II. 7 

48.0 
64.7 

12.9 
0.0 

0.6 

5-8 

36.1 
17.6 

F— N      ■ 

[NonA 
i         A 

I 
0 

6 

6.0 

16.6 

83.3 

0 

0 

0 

Totals      P''"-^ 
A 

321 
14 

1305 
66 

4.1 

4-7 

3.8 
I5-I 

74-3 
62.1 

7-7 
6.0 

2.6 

7-5 

11.4 
9.0 

ALCOHOLIC  AND  NON-ALCOHOLIC   PARENTS 
Table  IX  —  Continued 


483 


COMPARING   THE   FAMILIES   OF  ALCOHOLIC  AND   NON-ALCOHOLIC   PARENTS 
OF   THE    SAME   MENTAL   CONDITION 


No  Cause 


Condition 

No.  OF 
Matings 

Total 
Children 

Per 

Mating 

Condition  of  Children 

OF  Parents 

%F 

%N 

%d.inf. 

%  Mis. 

%Un. 

N-N      j^^^^ 

20 

2 

102 

7 

51 

3-5 

7.8 
0.0 

S3.3 
85.7 

6.8 
14.2 

2.9 
0.0 

0.9 
0.0 

Un— N 

[NonA 
i         A 

12 
0 

36 

3-0 

0.0 

944 

2.7 

0.0 

2.7 

N  — Un 

[NonA 
[         A 

II 
0 

26 

2-3 

0.0 

lOO.O 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

TT        TT     [NonA 
Un— Un             . 

7 

I 

28 

I 

4.0 

I.O 

3.5 
0.0 

82.1 

lOO.O 

0.0 
0.0 

0.0 
0.0 

14.2 
0.0 

^  ,  ,        [NonA 
Totals                 . 

50 
3 

192 
8 

3-8 
2.7 

4.6 
0.0 

86.4 
87.5 

4.1 
12.5 

1.5 
0.0 

3-1 
0.0 

Totals 


Hered.  . 

NonA 
A 

1020^ 
201 

4272 
1147 

4.1 

5-7 

254 
33-8 

29.7 
II. I 

9.2 
18.8 

3-7 
8.1 

31-6 
28.0 

Neu.      . 

NonA 
A 

123 
13 

435 
73 

3-5 
5.6 

4-3 
12.3 

64.8 
46.5 

5-2 
9-5 

4.8 
15.0 

20.6 
16.4 

Ace.      . 

NonA 
A 

321 
14 

1305 
66 

4.1 

4-7 

3-S 
I5-I 

74-3 
62.1 

7-7 
6.0 

2.6 

7-5 

11.4 
9.0 

N.C.     . 

NonA 
i          A 

50 
3 

192 
8 

3-8 
2.7 

4.6 
0.0 

86.4 
87-5 

4.1 
12.5 

1-5 
0.0 

3-1 
0.0 

Unclass. 

[NonA 
i         A 

92 
9 

400 
22 

4-3 
2.5 

5-0 

27.2 

53-5 
27.2 

8.0 
18.1 

2.7 
0.0 

30.7 
27.2 

Grand 
Totals 

[NonA 
i          A 

1606 

240 

6604 
1316 

4.1 
5-5 

17.9 
3^-3 

43-9 
16.4 

8.5 
17.6 

3.5 

8.2 

26.0 
26.2 

^In  Hereditary  Group  i  mating  resulting  in  18  children  is  omitted,  because  of 
suspected  Sy. 


484  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

In  Table  IX  we  have  our  fundamental  groups.  In  each  of  these 
we  have  subdivided  the  cases  by  matings.  These  subdivisions 
are  on  the  basis  of  the  mental  condition  of  parents.  For  example, 
(F  —  F)  means  father  feeble-minded,  mother  feeble-minded; 
(N  —  F)  means  father  normal,  mother  feeble-minded.  Each  of 
these  groups  is  again  subdi\'ided  into  those  matings  where  one  or 
both  of  the  parents  were  alcohoHc  and  those  where  neither  was 
alcohoHc. 

From  this  Table  we  find  some  interesting  facts.  If  alcohoUsm 
cannot  be  proved  to  directly  produce  feeble-mindedness  may 
it  be  that  it  at  least  has  some  influence  in  that  direction  ? 

Taking  the  first  Kne  in  Table  IX  we  have  the  following  figures  : 

Both  parents  are  feeble-minded ;  of  the  non-alcohoHc  group 
there  were  90  matings  resulting  in  445  offspring,  which  is  an 
average  of  4.9  children  per  mating.  Of  these  445  children,  66.7  % 
were  feeble-minded  ;  .7  of  i  %  were  normal ;  14.4  %  died  in  in- 
fancy; 3.5% resulted  in  miscarriages;  14.6%  are  undetermined. 
With  these  figures  we  can  compare  the  corresponding  figures  for 
the  group  of  the  same  kind  of  matings,  that  is,  father  and  mother 
both  feeble-minded  but  one  or  the  other  alcoholic.  Here  we  have 
only  36  matings  resulting  in  216  children,  that  is  6  per  mating, 
an  average  of  one  child  more  than  in  the  non-alcoholic  group. 

From  a  study  of  the  matings  it  will  be  seen  that  there  are 
more  children  per  mating  in  the  alcoholic  families ;  there  are 
only  two  exceptions  and  in  both  of  these  the  number  of  matings 
in  the  alcoholic  group  was  very  small.  We  may  make  it  therefore 
as  a  generalization  that  in  alcoholic  families  the  average  number 
of  children  is  about  one  more  than  in  the  non-alcoholic  families. 

Looking  at  the  condition  of  the  children  we  find  that  there  are 
nearly  as  many  feeble-minded  in  the  alcoholic  as  in  the  non- 
alcoholic group.  That  is,  we  have  59.2  in  the  alcoholics  whereas 
there  were  66.7  in  the  non-alcoholics.  The  number  that  died 
in  infancy  is  practically  the  same  in  both.  The  number  of  mis- 
carriages is,  however,  practically  doubled  in  the  alcoholic  group. 
The  undetermined  are  only  a  few  more  in  the  alcoholic  group. 


ALCOHOLIC  AND   NON-ALCOHOLIC  PARENTS 


485 


In  the  same  way  the  reader  can  compare  the  alcohoHc  group 
with  the  non-alcohoHc  group  for  each  kind  of  mating.  Unfortu- 
nately the  number  of  matings  for  the  alcohoHc  group  is  usually 


Feeble-minded 

10%       20 


Normal 

30  40  50 


Died  Mentality  Undetermined 

60  60  80  90  100 


Non  A 


TOTAL 

Diagram  showing  the  relative  proportion  of  children  who  were  defective, 
normal,  died  in  infancy  (including  miscarriage),  and  undetermined,  in  families 
that  were  Alcoholic  as  compared  with  the  same  in  famihes  that  were  Non- 
alcoholic.    Based  on  the  totals  of  Table  IX. 

small  and  in  several  instances  too  small  to  be  really  valuable. 
This  should  be  borne  in  mind  in  making  the  comparisons. 

In  several  instances  it  will  be  seen  that  the  number  of  feeble- 
minded children  is  considerably  larger  in  the  alcohoHc  group  than 
in  the  non-alcohoHc.     Corresponding  to  this  we  find  that  as  a 


486 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


rule  the  number  of  normal  children  in  the  alcoholic  group  is 
less  than  in  the  non-alcohoHc. 

Taking  from  Table  IX  the  (N  —  N)  matings  in  each  of  the  fun- 
damental groups  we  find  that  out  of  276  matings  where  both 
parents  are  known  to  be  normal  there  are  only  13  cases  where 
there  is  alcohoHsm  in  one  or  both  of  the  parents.  It  is  inter- 
esting to  note  that  in  these  cases  the  children  are  as  a  rule  not  all 
feeble-minded.  Assuming  that  alcohol  causes  feeble-mindedness, 
how  shall  we  account  for  a  family  where  the  father  or  mother 
is  alcohohc,  having  two  to  five  children  only  one  of  whom  is 
feeble-minded  ?  If  the  defective  one  was  the  last  born  it  might 
be  argued  that  the  poison  of  the  alcohol  was  cumulative,  but 
he  is  not  always  the  last  born.  Perhaps  it  may  be  said  that 
the  father  reformed  after  the  feeble-minded  child  was  born. 
This  is  not  the  case.  Wherever  the  parent  has  reformed  in  his 
habits  that  fact  has  been  noted  and  such  expressions  as  "once 
alcohohc"  or  "alcoholic  early  in  hfe"  are  found  on  our  charts. 

The  following  shows  the  condition  of  the  children  in  the  13 
cases  where  both  parents  were  normal  mentally  and  one  or  the 
other  alcoholic. 


Chart 

Number  of 
Children 

Condition  of  Children 

F 

N 

d.  inf. 

Mis. 

Un. 

9 

14 

73 
i6i 
201 
211 
213 

233 
260 
278 
281 
299 
299 

2 
9 

6 

2 

13 

2 
II 

6 

4 
8 

5 
5 
5 

0 
I 
0 
0 
I 

0 

I 
I 
0 
0 

2 
0 
0 

2 

6 
0 
6 
6 

2 
7 
3 
5 
4 

0 

3 

0 
0 
I 

I 

0 

I 

8 
0 

6 

I 
3 

0 
0 
0 

0 

3 

0 
0 
0 

0 

I 
0 

Totals          !             78 

7 

43 

6 

18 

4 

ALCOHOLISM  AND  NON-VIABILITY  487 

As  an  argument  for  alcohol  there  is  nothing  here. 

There  are  126  matings  in  the  Hereditary  Group  (Table  IX, 
page  481),  where  both  parents  were  feeble-minded.  The  chil- 
dren of  these  matings  are  of  course  practically  all  feeble- 
minded, but  that  is  because  their  parents  are  feeble-minded  and 
not  because  their  parents  were  alcohohc.  In  36  of  these  matings 
one  or  both  mates  were  alcohoUc.  These  are  28.5  %  of  all  the 
matings  in  this  group.  Our  13  (N  ■ —  N)  matings  were  only  4.7  % 
of  their  group.  Therefore  the  proportion  of  alcoholics  in  the 
(F  —  F)  matings  is  more  than  six  times  as  great  as  in  the 
(N  —  N)  matings. 

Table  IX,  however,  is  not  so  valuable  for  this  comparison  as 
the  next  one.  Its  main  value  is  to  show  how  the  children  are 
classified,  how  many  are  N,  F,  etc.  and  especially  to  show  the 
high  death  rate  —  the  non-viability  especially  of  the  offspring  of 
alcoholic  parents.  Both  the  deaths  in  infancy  and  the  mis- 
carriages are  as  a  rule  much  higher  in  the  alcohoUc  than  in  the 
non-alcohohc  group. 

The  effect  of  alcohol  in  producing  non- viable  offspring  is  shown 
in  the  final  totals  which  give  8.5  %  of  deaths  in  infancy  among 
the  non-alcohoKc  families  while  it  is  17.6  %  among  the  alcohohc. 
Likewise  the  number  of  miscarriages  including  still  births  is  3.5  % 
among  the  non-alcohoHc  but  8.2  %  among  the  alcohohc.  This 
agrees  with  other  studies  in  this  connection.  For  example, 
Professor  Taaz  Laitinen,  M.D.,  reporting  at  the  Twelfth  Inter- 
national Congress  on  AlcohoHsm  gives  the  percentage  of  mis- 
carriages among  total  abstainers  1.07%,  moderate  drinkers 
5.26%,  drinkers  7.11%.  These  percentages  are  based  on  a 
study  of  3600  for  the  first  group,  6600  for  the  second  group 
and  9600  for  the  third  group.  Our  groups  probably  correspond 
roughly,  the  non-alcohoHcs  to  his  abstainers  and  moderates,  our 
alcohohc  to  his  drinkers.  Since  ours  are  all  drunkards  we  get  a 
little  higher  percentage. 


488 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


Table  X 

PER    CENT    DISTRIBUTION    OF    FEEBLE-MINDED     ANT)     NORMAL    CHILDREN    IN 
ALCOHOLIC   AND   NON-ALCOHOLIC   FAMILIES 

Hereditary  Group 


Condition  of  Parents 

Kn   nv            Total  Chix- 

M  ATTvr^           DREN  OF  KNOWN 

Matings            Mentality 

%F 

%N 

^             1  Non  A 

^       .            •  1          A 

90                      300 
36                      130 

99.0 
98.4 

I.O 

1.6 

N_F    .     .  j^^^^ 

45        i          109 
5          ' 

59-6 

75-0 

40.3 
25.0 

F  — N    .     . 

Non  A 
A 

31          j               89 
12                            44 

37.0        j         62.9 
47-7         i         52.2 

Un.  — F      . 

[Non  A 
i          A 

142                          250 

S3                   124 

79.6                 20.4 
84.6        1          15.3 

F-Un.       .j^^^^ 

59                  145 
14        :            35 

82.7         1         17.2 
94-2                    5-7 

N  — N   .     .  ■ 

[Non  A 
i          A 

92 

4 

289 
5 

lO.O 

20.0 

89.9 
80.0 

Un.-N      .jNonA 

146 
19 

307 
50 

II.O 

34.0 

88.9 
66.0 

N-Un.         JNonA 
A 

37 
4 

236 
10 

5-5 
40.0 

94-5 
60.0 

Un.-Un.   .  (^'""A 
[         A 

328 
54 

630 
106 

46.9 
66.0 

53.0 
33-9 

Totals    .     .  jN^^^ 

1020 
201 

2355 
516 

46.1 

75-1 

53.8 
24.8 

Neuropathk 


N  — N   .     . 

fNon  A 
i          A 

21 

4 

64        I 
21        I 

15-6 
14.2 

•  84.3 
85.7 

Un.-N      . 

Non  A 
i          A 

44 
6 

92 
19 

5-4 
31-5 

94.5 
68.4 

N  — Un.      . 

[Non  A 
i          A 

26 

I 

70 

2 

2.9 
0.0 

97.1 

lOO.O 

Un.  — Un.  . 

[Non  A 
[          A 

32 
2 

75 

2.7 
0.0 

97-3 

lOO.O 

Totals     .      . 

Non  A 
A 

123 
13 

301        1 
43        ! 

6.3 
20.9 

93.6 
79.0 

ALCOHOL  VERSUS  NO  ALCOHOL 
Table  X  —  Continued 


489 


PER    CENT    DISTRIBUTION    OF    FEEBLE-MINDED    AND    NORMAL    CHILDREN    IN 
ALCOHOLIC   AND   NON-ALCOHOLIC   FAMILIES 

Accident 


Co>fDiTiON  OF  Parents 

No.  OF 

Matings 

Total  Chil- 
dren OF  Known 
Mentality 

%F 

%N 

N-N   .     .  JNonA 
A 

130 

3 

4S6 
15 

7.8 
20.0 

92.1 
80.0 

Un.  — N      . 

Non  A 
i          A 

80 

8 

258 
23 

2.3 
21.7 

97.6 

78.2 

N  — Un.      . 

[Non  A 
i          A 

66 

0 

181 

0.5 

99.4 

Un.-Un.  .  j^^^^ 

44 
3 

89 
13 

4.4 

15-3 

95-5 
84.6 

F-N    .     .  j^^^^ 

I 
0 

6 

16.6 

83-3 

Totals    .     .  jNonA 

321 
14 

1020 
SI 

4.9 
19.6 

95-0 
80.3 

No  Cause 


N  — N  .     . 

[Non  A 
i          A 

20 

2 

91 
6 

8.7 
0.0 

91.2 
1 00.0 

Un.  — N      . 

[Non  A 
I          A 

12 
0 

34 

0.0 

100. 0 

N  — Un.      . 

[Non  A 
i          A 

II 
0 

26 

0 

lOO.O 

Un.-Un.  . 

[Non  A 

[          A 

7 

I 

24 

I 

7.0 
0.0 

92.9 

lOO.O 

Totals    .     . 

Non  A 

i          A 

50 
3 

175 
7 

5-1 
0.0 

94.8 

100. 0 

490 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 
\       Table  X  —  Continued 


PER    CENT    DISTRIBUTION    OF    FEEBLE-MINDED    AND    NORMAL    CHILDREN    IN 
ALCOHOLIC   AND   NON-ALCOHOLIC   FAMILIES 


Totals 


Condition  of  Parents 

No.  of 

Matings 

Total  Chil- 
dren OF  Known 
Mentality 

%F 

%N 

Hereditary.  |  ^""^  ^ 

I020 
20I 

2355 
516 

46.1 

75-1 

53.8 
24.8 

Neuropathic!^""'^ 

123 
13 

301 
43 

6.3 
20.9 

93.6 
79.0 

A     •  J     ^          [  Non  A 
Accident      .               .   . 

321 
14 

1020 
51 

4.9 
19.6 

95-0 
80.3 

No  Cause    . 

[Non  A 
i          A 

50 

3 

175 

7 

5-1 
0.0 

94-8 

lOO.O 

Grand             |  Non  A 
Totals  .     .  1          A 

1514 
231 

3851 
617 

30.2 
65-9 

69.7 

34-0 

Table  X  hardly  needs  discussion.     It  speaks  for  itself. 

We  have  here  considered  only  the  offspring  who  lived  and  whose 
mentality  has  been  determined. 

In  practically  every  case  the  percentage  of  feeble-minded  is 
markedly  greater  in  the  alcoholic  group  than  in  t-jie  non-alcohohc 
—  sometimes  as  much  as  35  %more.  — • 

It  looks  evident  that  alcohol  almost  doubles  the  number  of 
feeble-minded  children  in  a  family.  But  are  we  sure  alcohol  is 
a  cause  and  not  merely  a  symptom  ? 

May  it  not  be  that  alcohol  has  been  a  tag  by  which  we  have 
got  into  our  groups  more  pronounced  types  of  feeble-mindedness, 
who  therefore  have  a  larger  proportion  of  defective  children  ? 

It  may  be  thot  by  some,  readers  that  we  are  resisting  the  evi- 
dence, but  the  logically  minded  will  see  the  danger  of  fallacy. 
Suppose  one  were  to  divide  by  careful  medical  examination  a 
large  group  of  people  into  the  tuberculous  and  the  normal  (non- 


ALCOHOL  A  CAUSE  OR  A  SYMPTOM  491 

tuberculous)  —  as  we  have  divided  ours  into  feeble-minded 
and  normal.  After  the  division  we  decide  to  examine  our  data 
for  facts  on  the  race  problem  as  we  decided  above  to  use  our 
data  to  study  the  alcohol  problem.  We  find  twice  as  many 
negroes  in  our  tuberculous  group  as  in  the  normal  group.  Can 
we  logically  conclude  that  a  dark  skin  causes  tuberculosis,  or 
that  anything  about  or  in  the  negro  constitution  causes  it  ?  Of 
course  this  is  absurd.  But  we  see  the  absurdity  here  easier  than 
in  the  problem  of  alcohol  and  feeble-mindedness,  because  we 
know  the  cause  of  tuberculosis  and  we  know  the  negro  is  pecul- 
iarly susceptible  to  the  tubercle  bacillus. 

Case  236  is  somewhat  interesting  for  study  in  this  con- 
nection. Our  child  is  feeble-minded  supposedly  because  of  the 
mistreatment  of  the  mother  during  pregnancy  and  the  fever 
from  which  both  mother  and  child  suffered  at  the  time  the  child 
was  born.  Neither  the  father  nor  mother  was  alcohohc.  The 
mother,  however,  later  married  a  man  who  was  alcohoHc,  a 
drunken  brute.  By  him  she  had  a  daughter  and  in  spite  of  the 
drunkenness  and  the  brutahty  of  the  father  this  child  is  normal. 
It  is  such  instances  as  these  that  must  give  us  pause  before  we 
conclude  that  alcohoHsm  is  a  cause  of  feeble-mindedness.  There 
is  great  danger  of  being  illogical  in  our  thinking  in  this  regard. 
We  forget  that  a  causal  relation  once  estabhshed,  the  effect  must 
always  follow  when  the  cause  is  present  and  the  conditions  the 
same.  On  the  whole  then  we  are  forced  to  decide  that,  altho 
in  this  group  the  percentages  are  very  high  for  the  feeble-minded 
children  of  alcohoHc  parents,  and  at  first  glance  it  appears  that 
alcohol  has  greatly  increased  the  number  of  feeble-minded,  yet 
the  argument  is  not  complete. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  also  that  we  are  dealing  with  only  one 
side  of  the  question,  that  is,  the  side  of  feeble-minded  children 
with  their  parents.  In  considering  the  question  of  whether 
alcohol  causes  feeble-mindedness  we  ous^ht  to  consider  the  cases 
of  normal  children  with  alcoholic  parents  in  otherwise  normal 


492 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


families.  While  we  have  at  hand  no  statistics  on  this  subject 
every  one  knows  that  there  are  many  such  cases.  Indeed 
one  must  admit  the  argument  that  if  alcohol  did  cause  feeble- 
mindedness, the  number  of  the  feeble-minded  would  be  enor- 
mously greater  than  it  now  is.  Even  to-day  there  are  cases 
of  severely  alcohohc  parents  with  famihes  of  children  none  of 
whom  are  feeble-minded  ;  and  if  we  go  back  two  or  three  genera- 
tions, when  it  was  much  more  common  for  intelligent  people  to 
get  intoxicated  than  it  is  to-day,  we  see  how  unlikely  it  is  that 
alcoholism  could  be  a  serious  cause  of  feeble-mindedness,  else 
a  large  proportion  of  the  population  would  be  defective. 

Since  the  definition  of  alcohohc  as  used  in  our  work  is  practi- 
cally synonymous  with  drunkard,  the  argument  is  heightened. 

If  it  cannot  be  shown  that  drunken  parents  more  certainly  have 
feeble-minded  children,  it  is  hardly  worth  while  to  discuss  the 
cases  of  the  moderate  drinkers  or  even  the  habitual  drinkers  who 
never  drank  to  intoxication. 

Everything  seems  to  indicate  that  alcoholism  itself  is  only  a 
symptom,  that  it  for  the  most  part  occurs-in  families  where  there 
is  some  form  of  neurotic  taint,  especially  feeble-mindedness.  The 
percentage  of  our  alcoholics  that  are  also  feeble-minded  is  very 
great.  Indeed  one  may  say  without  fear  of  dispute  that  more 
people  are  alcohohc  because  they  are  feeble-minded  than  vice 
versa. 

PARENTS  —  PARALYTIC,   EPILEPTIC,  INSANE,   OR  SYPHILITIC 

In  the  foregoing  discussion  of  alcohol  the  cases  of  alcoholism 
and  non-alcoholism  have  been  uncomplicated  by  any  other 
serious  conditions.  In  the  following  Table  we  present  those 
cases  where  the  parents  have  one  or  more  of  the  above  con- 
ditions which  may  also  be  complicated  by  alcohol. 

We  have  for  example,  alcohol  and  paralysis  in  the  same  family, 
sometimes  in  the  same  parent ;    in  other  cases  we  have  alcohol 


PARENTS    PARALYTIC,  EPILEPTIC  493 

and  epilepsy ;  other  combinations  are  presented  for  comparison 
as  also  the  cases  of  paralysis,  insanity,  epilepsy,  etc.  alone. 

A  study  of  these  figures  must  give  one  serious  doubt  as  to  the 
causal  effect  of  these  conditions  in  producing  feeble-mindedness. 
If  we  take  the  Hereditary  Group  where  wq  know  we  are  deahng 
with  a  defective  stock  and  we  might  expect  that  these  conditions 
would  greatly  increase  the  proportion  of  feeble-minded  we  find 
strange  figures.  For  example,  where  the  parents  are  both 
alcoholic  and  paralytic  there  are,  out  of  22  children,  no  feeble- 
minded ones.  Where  there  is  epilepsy,  alcohol  and  syphilis, 
there  are  equal  numbers  of  feeble-minded  and  normal,  a  condi- 
tion of  things  which  we  have  learned  to  expect  in  any  family 
where  one  parent  is  normal  and  the  other  defective  —  as  in  this 
case. 

In  the  Neuropathic  Group  we  find  that  parents  who  were  both 
alcoholic  and  paralytic  have  not  as  large  a  proportion  of  feeble- 
minded children  as  another  group  of  parents  who  are  only 
paralytic.  Insanity  alone  gives  us  2.2  %  feeble-minded  ;  epilepsy 
alone  gives  20  %  feeble-minded ;  but  insanity  and  epilepsy  give 
us  no  feeble-minded. 

The  Accident  Group  appears  no  different.  SyphiHs  gives 
20  %  feeble-minded  ;    alcohol  and  syphilis  only  12%. 

The  number  of  matings  and  children  is  of  course  small  in  many 
of  these  combinations.  They  are  probably  too  small  to  prove 
anything  one  way  or  the  other,  but  it  seems  altogether  unhkely 
that,  if  these  conditions  were  potent  causes  of  feeble-mindedness, 
it  should  not  show  in  a  table  hke  this  even  tho  the  numbers 
are  small.  The  figures  are  presented  only  as  showing  one  more 
failure  in  an  attempt  to  discover  some  causal  connection  between 
these  conditions  and  feeble-mindedness. 

It  is  of  course  known  that  there  are  in  the  general  population 
quantities  of  matings  where  one  or  the  other  of  the  parents  has 
syphilis  or  is  alcoholic  and  there  are  no  feeble-minded  children. 
But  in  a  stock  already  tainted  with  feeble-mindedness  we  might 


494 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


expect  to  find  a  greater  percentage  of  feeble-mindedness,  thus 
showing  the  influence  of  these  conditions.  That  we  do  not  find 
it  must  have  at  least  a  Uttle  significance. 

Table   XI 

f 

PARENTS  —  PARALYTIC,    EPILEPTIC,    INSANE,    OR    SYPHILITIC 

Hereditary  Group 


Condition 

OF 

No.  OF 

Matings 

Total 
Children 

Condition  of  Children 

Parents 

%F 

%N 

%  d.  inf. 

%  Mis. 

%Un. 

Par.  .     . 
A.  Par.   . 
I.  Par.    . 
I.       .     . 
A.  I.       . 
E.  I.       . 
E.      .     . 
A.  E.      . 
A.  E.  Sy. 
Sy.     .     . 
A.  Sy.     . 

35 
4 
3 

26 

9 

2 

19 

7 

I 

lO 

7 

209 

22 
23 

50 

7 
III 

35 

5 

40 

42 

27.2 
0.0 

34-7 
16.6 

45-9 
28.5 
37.8 
20.0 
40.0 
42.4 
42.8 

45-5 
0.0 

18.6 
0.0 

28.5 

10.8 

8.5 

40.0 

4.9 

9-5 

II.O 
18.I 

4.3 
lO.O 

5-9 
14.2 
14.4 

8.5 

0.0 

27.7 

21.4 

3'^ 

4-5 
0.0 

1-3 
1.9 
14.2 
6.3 
8.5 
0.0 

lO.O 

19.0 

42.5 

31-8 
60.8 
S3-3 
45-9 
14.2 

30.7 
54-2 
20.0 
14.9 

7.2 

Totals 

123 

694 

28.8 

14.2 

12.3 

4.8 

39-6 

Neuropathic  Group 


Par. 
A.  Par. 
I.  Par. 
I.       . 
A.  I. 
E.  I. 
E.      . 
A.  E. 
Sy.     . 

28 

3 
2 

7 
4 

I 
I 
I 
3 

163 

22 

4 

45 

33 

5 

5 

3 

16 

296 

4.9 
4.6 
0.0 
2.2 
6.0 
0.0 
20.0 

12.4 

42.9 
22.7 

0.0 
42.2 
42.4 
80.0 
20.0 
66.6 

6.3 

17.2 
9.0 
0.0 

22.2 
9.0 
0.0 

40.0 
0.0 

31-3 

3-6 

0.0 
50.0 
0.0 
0.0 
0.0 
0.0 
0.0 
43-8 

31.2 
63.6 
50.0 

42.4 

20.0 

20.0 

0.0 

.     6.3 

Totals 

50 

5-4 

39.1 

16.8 

5-0 

33.4 

TUBERCULOSIS 


Table    XI —  Continued 


495 


PARENTS  —  PARALYTIC,   EPILEPTIC,   INSANE,    OR   SYPHILITIC 

Accident  Group 


Condition  of 

No.  OF 

Matings 

Total 
Children 

Condition  of  Children 

Parents 

%F 

%N 

%  d.  inf. 

%  Mis. 

%Un. 

Par.        .     .     . 
A.  Par.   .     .     . 
I 

Sy 

A.  Sy.     .     .     . 

i8 

2 

3 

I 

2 

86 

i6 

5 
8 

4-7 

6.6 

0.0 

20.0 

12.4 

63-9 

86.6 
62.4 

20.0 
74-9 

8.1 

0.0 

12.4 

40.0 

0.0 

3-4 
0.0 
0.0 
20.0 
0.0 

19.7 

6.6 

24.9 

0.0 

12.4 

Totals      .     . 

26 

130 

5-3 

65.3 

8.4 

3.0 

17.6 

No  Cause 


Par 

Sy 

6 

I 

29 

2 

3-4 
0.0 

58.6 

lOO.O 

3-4 
0.0 

0.0 
0.0 

34-4 
0.0 

Totals      .     . 

7 

31 

3-2 

61.2 

3-2 

0.0 

32.2 

Unclassified  Group 


Par 

I 

A.  I.       ... 

3 

I 
I 

18 
7 
3 

28 

0.0 

0.0 

33-3 

44.4 

28.5 

0.0 

II. 2 

42.9 

0.0 

0.0 
0.0 
0.0 

44.4 
28.5 
66.6 

Totals      .     . 

5 

■     3.5 

35.8 

17.8 

0.0 

42.8 

Grand  Totals 

211 

1179 

19.0 

27.9 

12.9 

4.4 

35-5 

TUBERCULOSIS 

Records  have  been  kept  on  the  assumption  that  tuberculo- 
sis might  produce  a  poison  in  the  parents  which  would  prevent 
their  bringing  offspring  to  full  and  normal  development. 

There  are  on  these  charts  324  cases  of  tuberculosis.  The 
cases  are  scattered  thru  all  of  the  four  groups  and  an  inspec- 
tion of  the  various  charts  will  show  that  their  location  is 
only  such  as  would   be  accounted  for  by  contagion.     There- 


496 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


fore,  this  presents  no  argument  that  tuberculosis  has  causal 
relation  to  feeble-mindedness. 

Some  of  these  famihes  show  numerous  cases  of  tuberculosis, 
probably  due  to  the  low  social  order  of  these  people,  their  unclean- 
liness  and  failure' to  take  proper  precautions  against  the  disease. 
Doubtless  our  reported  cases  cover  not  much  more  than  the  most 
clearly  defined  cases  of  tuberculosis  of  the  lungs,  whereas  the 
usual  statistics  count  all  forms.  Even  so,  we  can  allow  for  much 
error  in  this  direction  and  still  have  left  a  low  per  cent  of  tuber- 
culosis, for  only  2.8  %  of  all  persons  charted  are  marked  tuber- 
culous, while  in  the  general  population  the  proportion  is  from 
10%  to  15%.  This  agrees  with  the  view  that  feeble-minded 
stock  may  be  primitive  and  possessed  of  much  animal  strength 
and  possibly  some  immunity  to  disease. 

For  the  number  of  cases  and  percentages  see  Tables,  pages 

531.  532. 

If  there  is  no  influence  producing  tuberculosis  in  one  group  more 
than  another  these  324  cases  should  be  found  in  the  different 
groups  in  the  proportion  of  the  whole  number  of  persons  in  those 
groups  or  60.3  :  9.7  :  10.6  :  16.7  :  2.4  ;  for  the  Hereditary,  Probably 
Hereditary,  Neuropathic,  Accident  and  No  Cause  respectively. 

The  following  table  shows  what  would  be  expected  compared 
with  what  we  actually  find. 


Group 

Expectation 

Actual 

Too  Many 

Too  Few 

Hereditary 

195 

187 

8 

Probably  Hereditary  .      . 

32 

59 

27 

Neuropathic      .... 

35 

36 

I 

Accident 

54 

39 

IS 

No  Cause 

8 

3 

5 

Here  is  much  tuberculosis  in  the  Probably  Hereditary  group, 
but  a  study  of  the  charts  will  show  that  this  is  largely  accidental. 
Ten  of  these  cases  occur  on  one  chart  (No.  181). 


SEXUAL  IMMORALITY  497 


SEXUALLY  IMMORAL   (SX) 


Sexual  immorality  as  here  used  means  notorious  cases  —  cases 
where  there  is  external  evidence  in  the  form  of  illegitimate  children, 
notorious  prostitutes,  or  men  equally  notorious  in  their  violation 
of  the  moral  code. 

The  figures  strike  one  as  low  and  undoubtedly  they  are  much 
below  the  facts.  However,  it  is  well  to  remember  that  with  a 
large  proportion  of  the  people  among  whom  this  practice  prevails 
the  moral  code  is  so  unknown  or  unrecognized  that  there  is  very 
little  shame  connected  with  this  matter,  so  that  it  is  less  difficult 
to  get  the  facts  than  it  would  be  in  any  similar  investigation  in 
better  society.  This  is  emphasized  by  the  fact  that  170  of  these 
people  were  feeble-minded  while  only  15  were  normal,  the  re- 
mainder being  undetermined. 

On  the  other  hand  there  is  a  great  deal  of  evidence  that  feeble- 
minded people  are  not  nearly  so  promiscuous  in  their  sexual  re- 
lations as  we  might  at  first  expect.  There  is  every  evidence 
that  a  great  many  of  them  Hve  together  in  wedlock  and  true  to 
each  other.  There  a^e^also  many  unmarried  among  them  who 
hve  a  hfe  of  continence  and  chastity. 

While  it  is  a  somewhat  difficult  matter  to  prove,  the  writer 
has  come  to  the  conviction  after  years  of  study  of  the  problem 
that  the  sexual  instinct  in  these  people  is  under-developed  rather 
than  over-developed.  This  is  not  generally  recognized  and  it  is 
true  that  it  often  appears  otherwise,  butjafhat  appears  to  be  an 
over-development  of  the  instinct,  in  many  cases  at  least,  proves 
upon  examination  to  be  simply  an  excess  due  to  lack  of^ontrol. 
Instinct  itself  is  not  stronger  but  the  power  of  control  being  re- 
moved it  manifests  itself  more  strongly  than  with  normal  people. 

One-third  of  our  charts  show  sexually  immoral  individuals 
but  only  2.5%_iQf^the  total  number  of  individuals  charted  are 
sexually  immoral  (Sx)  according  to  our  information.. 

An  inspection  of  the  Table  shows  that  the  Hereditary  Group 


498 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


gives  a  percentage  for  immorality  both  in  charts  and  in  indi- 
viduals over  three  times  as  great  as  any  other  group,  showing 
that  the  lack  of  control  has  led  a  larger  proportion  of  these 
people  into  this  error. 

It  can  be  plainly  seen  how  feeble-mindedness  contributes  to 
our  sexual  problems. 

Table  XII 

SHOWING   FREQUENCY   AND    DISTRIBUTION    OF   SX   ON   OUR   CHARTS 

288  Persons  on  96  Charts  are  marked  Sx.     They  are  divided  as  follows : 


Mentality 

Hereditary 
79  Charts 

Probably  H 
5  Charts 

Neu. 
8  Charts 

Accident 
4  Charts 

Total 

96 
Charts 

XT          1                  [  Men 

Normal                   ,,, 

Women 

Feeble-minded    [^^^^^^ 

Undetermined     I  ,^'^"    ^ 
[  Women 

6 

3 

40 

129 

31 

49 

2 
2 
0 

I 
2 

I 

0 

I 
0 
0 
II 
5 

I 
0 
0 
0 

I 
3 

9 
6 

40 
130 

45 
58 

Totals 

258 

8 

17 

5 

288 

Total  feeble-minded  170  —  Normal  15  —  Undetermined  103. 
Total  Men  94  —  Total  Women  194. 

Of  164  Charts  in  Hereditary  Group  79  Charts  or  48.2%  show  Sx 

Of    34  Charts  in  Probably  H.  Group  5  Charts  or  14.7%  show  Sx 

Of    37  Charts  in  Neuropathic  Group  8  Charts  or  21.6%  show  Sx 

Of    57  Charts  in  Accident  Group  4  Charts  or    7.0%  show  Sx 

Of      8  Charts  in  No  Cause  Group  o  Chart                   shows  Sx 


Of  300  Charts 


96  Charts  or  32.0%  show  Sx 


Of  6868  Persons  in  Hereditary  Group  258  or  3.75%  are  marked  Sx 
Of  1115  Persons  in  Probably  H.  Group  8  or  0.71%  are  marked  Sx 
Of  1212  Persons  in  Neuropathic  Group  17  or  1.40%  are  marked  Sx 
Of  1913  Persons  in  Accident  Group  5  or  0.26%  are  marked  Sx 

Of    281  Persons  in  No  Cause  Group  o  are  marked  Sx 


Of  1 1 389  Persons  in  all  Groups 


288  or  2.52%  are  marked  Sx 


ILLEGITIMACY 


499 


The  following  table  shows  what  would  be  expected  compared 
with  what  we  actually  find. 


Group 

Expectation  ^ 

Actual 

Too  Many- 

Too  Few 

Hereditary    .... 
Probably  Hereditary   . 
Neuropathic       .      .     . 

Accident 

No  Cause      .... 

174 
28 

31 

48 

7 

258 

8 

17 

5 

0 

84 

20 
14 

43 

7 

Sex  immorality  is  closely  associated  with  hereditary  feeble- 
mindedness. 

ILLEGITIMATE   CHILDREN 

Closely  connected  with  the  subject  of  sexual  immorahty  is 
the  one  of  illegitimacy. 

Our  records  show  278  illegitimate  children  of  whom  259  or 
93  %  are  in  the  pure  Hereditary  Group,  12  are  in  Probably  Hered- 
itary, 3  in  Neuropathic  and  4  in  the  Accident  Group. 

There  is  nothing  new  in  these  facts,  they  are  simply  confirma- 
tory of  what  we  have  found  in  other  Hues. 

The  following  table  shows  what  would  be  expected  compared 
with  what  we  actually  find. 


Group 


Expectation  > 


Hereditary    .      .     . 
Probably  Hereditary 
Neuropathic       .     . 
Accident .... 
No  Cause      .     .     . 


168 
27 
29 
47 

7 


Actual 


259 
12 

3 
4 
o 


Too  Many 


Too  Few 


91 


15 
26 

43 

7 


It  is  plain  to  be  seen  that  there  is  a  decided  relation  between 
illegitimacy  and  hereditary  feeble-mindedness. 

1  See  page  480  under  Table  VIII. 


500 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


PARALYSIS 

A  neuropathic  condition  of  some  of  the  ancestors  or  relatives 
which  has  been  designated  by  our  informant  and  on  our 
charts  by  the  words  paralysis,  apoplexy,  stroke  or  some  simi- 
lar term  is  noticeably  frequent.  The  question  arises  —  is  this 
a  symptom  or  a  cause  of  f eeble-mindedness  ? 

The  following  Table  gives  a  summary  of  what  information  we 

have  as  to  the  relation  of  paralysis  to  feeble-mindedness  in  these 

cases. 

Table  XIII 

SHOWING    FACTS    ABOUT    PARALYSIS    AS    IT    APPEARS    ON    OUR    CHARTS 

Of  300  charts  a  total  of  99  gr  33  %  show  paralysis,  divided  as  follows : 
Hereditary   Group 


1 

Line  of  Descent 

WITH  OUR  Child 

Paralysis  appears  on  Charts     i  Number  of  Cases 

Numbered 

ON  Each  Chart 

Direct  Line  and  Sibs^ 

CoUaterali 

29 

8 

4 

4 

80 

4 

4 

0 

161 

3 

3 

0 

3,     56,    70,    72,    104,     III, 
132,  134,  148 

2 

14 

4 

12,    18,    19,   22,    24,   26,    28, 

35,44,46,53,58,59,78, 

85,  86,  87,  loi,  102, 130, 

I 

24 

I 

146,  150,  154,  159,  163 

Total,  37  charts,  22.5  7o  of  entire  Hereditary  Group  of  164  charts. 
Probably  Hereditary  Group 


183,  195,  198 
181,  185,  197 
172,  178,  184,  190 


1  *'  Direct  line"  in  these  tables  includes  sibs  of  parents,  grandparents,  etc.,  i.e. 
all  persons  who  have  the  same  blood.  "  Collaterals  "  include  only  those  in  whose 
blood  is  another  strain  brought  in  by  marriage. 


PARALYSIS 


501 


Table  XIII  —  Continued 

SHOWING    FACTS    ABOUT    PARALYSIS    AS    IT    APPEARS    ON    OUR    CHARTS 

Total,  10  charts,  29.4  %  of  the  entire  group  of  Probably  Hereditary  (34 
charts). 

Total  Hereditary  (Certain  and  Probable),  47  charts  or  23.7%  of  the  198 
charts  in  these  two  Hereditary  Groups. 

By  individuals,  77  or  0.96  %  of  all  persons  in  these  groups. 

Neuropathic  Group 


Paralysis  appears  on  Charts 

Number  of  Cases 
ON  Each  Chart 

Line  of  Descent 

with  our  Child 

Numbered 

Direct  Line  and  Sibs^ 

Collateral  i 

199 

5 

4 

I 

205,  218,  231 

3 

9 

0 

200,     211,      212,     213,     215, 
225,   227 

1 

2 

13 

I 

201,     202,     203,     204,     207, 

1 

208,  210,    214,    216,    217, 
220,  221,    223,    224,    228, 

I 

17 

I 

229,    230,    232 

Total,  29  charts,  78.3  %  of  the  entire  Neuropathic  Group  of  37  charts. 
Accident  Group 


291 

3 

3 

0 

279,  281 

2 

4 

0 

237,  238,  246,  247,  252, 

257, 258, 262, 263, 265, 

I 

15 

0 

280, 285, 288, 289, 290  1 

Total,  18  charts  or  31.5  %  of  the  entire  Accident  Group  of  57  charts. 
No  Cause  Group 


297 

293,  294,  295,  296 


Total,  5  charts  or  62.5  %  of  the  entire  No  Cause  Group  of  8  charts. 

1  Idem. 


502 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


Summary 


Hered. 

Prob.  H. 

Nexjr. 

Ace. 

N.  C. 

Total 

0.  Charts  .      . 

37 

10 

29 

18 

5 

99 

No.  Individuals 
Men 
Women 

Dir. 

23 
26 

Col. 

5 
4 

Dir. 
13 

6 

Col. 
0 
0 

Dir. 
26 
17 

Col. 

2 

I 

Dir. 
12 
10 

Col. 
0 
0 

Dir. 

3 
3 

84  M 
67  w 

Total  Persons 

49 

9 

19 

0 

43 

3 

22 

0 

6 

151 

Of  6868  Persons  in  Hereditary  Group 
Of  1 1 15  Persons  in  Probably  H.  Group 
(Of  7983  Persons  in  H.  &  Prob.  H. 
Of  1 212  Persons  in  Neuropathic  Group 
Of  1 91 3  Persons  in  Accident  Group 
Of    281  Persons  in  No  Cause  Group 


58  or  0.84%  show  Paralysis^ 

19  or  1.74%  show  Paralysis 

77  or  0.96%  show  Paralysis) 

46  or  3.82%  show  Paralysis 

22  or  1.15%  show  Paralysis 

6  or  0.31%  show  Paralysis 


Of  11,389  Persons  in  all  Groups 


151  or  1,32%  show  Paralysis 


The  following   table  shows  what  would   be   expected   com- 
pared with  what  we  actually  find. 


Group 

Expectation  i 

Actual 

Too  Many 

Too  Few 

Hereditary 

Probably  Hereditary  .      . 
Neuropathic     .... 

Accident 

No  Cause 

91 
15 
16 

25 
4 

58 
19 
46 
22 

6 

4 
30 

2 

33 

3 

The  predominance  here  is  in  the  Neuropathic  Group. 

We  note  first  that  the  percentage  of  neuropathic  charts  show- 
ing paralysis,  78%,  is  greater  than  is  that  of  any  other  group. 
This  is  to  be  expected  since  there  have  been  placed  in  this  group 
all  cases  that,  showing  no  probabiHty  of  hereditary  feeble-minded- 


^  "  Paralysis  "  includes  hemiplegia,  apoplexy,  stroke,  etc. 
2  See  page  480,  under  Table  VIII. 


PARALYSIS  503 

ness,  have  among  other  neuropathic  conditions  this  one  of  paral- 
ysis. The  proportion  is  however  quite  large  in  the  other  groups, 
being  22%  of  the  hereditary,  29%  of  the  probably  hereditary 
and  31%  of  the  accident.  It  would  seem  to  be  significant  that 
a  very  large  number  of  these  cases  are  in  direct  line  ^  with  the  case 
studied,  that  is  to  say,  it  is  paralysis  of  one  of  the  parents,  one 
of  the  grandparents,  or  their  sibs. 

Perhaps  the  strongest  evidence  for  the  causal  relation  of  paraly- 
sis is  found  in  the  No  Cause  Group  where  there  are  five  charts 
with  six  paralytic  individuals  and  so  far  as  can  be  determined 
nothing  else  to  account  for  the  condition  of  the  feeble-minded 
person.  It  is  true  that  the  paralysis  in  these  cases  is  in  the 
grandparents  while  the  parents  were  normal  and  reasonably 
healthy.  It  does  not  seem  impossible  however  that  the  paralysis 
may  be  a  symptom  of  a  neural  condition  which  is  inherent,  and 
which  under  certain  conditions  shows  itself  as  feeble-mindedness. 

It  must  be  understood  that  while  it  is  probable  that  the  cases 
that  we  have  are  properly  described  as  paralysis,  we  are  by  no 
means  sure  that  we  have  all  of  the  cases.  An  illustration  may  be 
taken  from  the  cases  of  ''heart  failure"  or  ''heart  trouble." 
There  are  many  of  those  on  our  charts  but  they  have  not  been 
included  in  this  group,  altho  undoubtedly  what  is  called  "heart 
failure"  is  sometimes  a  paralysis,  hemiplegia  or  stroke  of  apo- 
plexy. 

Unsatisfactory  and  incomplete  as  the  data  are  we  perhaps 
shall  not  get  anything  more  definite  until  we  have  a  more  complete 
equipment  and  are  able  to  follow  the  hving  cases  into  the  coming 
generations  and  have  examinations  made  by  medical  experts. 
If  for  example  the  people  on  our  charts  who  are  now  Hving  could 
be  carefully  examined  and  later  their  children  and  grandchildren 
we  would  have  a  mass  of  data  that  would  be  accurate  and  on 
which  it  would  be  possible  to  base  definite  conclusions.  Such  a 
plan  is  entirely  feasible. 

1  See  note,  p.  500. 


504  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

INSANITY  AND  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

The  distinction  between  insanity  and  feeble-mindedness  is 
theoretically  an  easy  one  to  make.  Neurologically,  insanity  re- 
sults from  a  brain  that  is  diseased  while  in  the  case  of  feeble- 
mindedness the  brain  has  never  attained  normal  develop- 
ment. A  dwarf  never  grows  to  normal  stature  but  a  man 
of  normal  stature  may  be  reduced  to  the  height  of  the 
dwarf  by  an  accident  which  cuts  six  inches  from  his  legs 
or  by  disease  which  shortens  him  at  the  hip-joint,  or  which 
curves  his  spine  so  that  he  can  no  longer  stand  up  straight. 
A  feeble-minded  person  is  a  person  with  a  dwarf  brain,  not 
necessarily  in  size  it  is  true,  but  in  function ;  while  an  insane 
person  is  one  with  a  diseased  brain.  Functionally  the  two  con- 
ditions may  approach  each  other  so  nearly  that,  to  the  inex- 
perienced at  least,  they  are  difficult  to  distinguish. 

For  the  layman,  the  easiest  way  to  distinguish  between  these  is 
by  means  of  the  early  history  of  the  individual.  A  child  who  has 
had  in  the  past  better  intelKgence  than  he  now  possesses  is 
probably  suffering  from  disease  of  the  brain,  since  simple  arrest 
of  development  would  not  account  for  the  previous  superior 
intelUgence.     Case  314  is  a  good  illustration  of  this. 

The  psychiatrist  seldom  has  any  difficulty  in  distinguishing 
between  the  two;  he  usually  finds  either  an  anatomical  lesion 
showing  disease  of  the  brain,  or  well-known  mental  symptoms 
characteristic  of  insanity,  which  are  distinctly  different  from 
those  of  arrested  development. 

The  Binet-Simon  Measuring  Scale  of  IntelKgence  differen- 
tiates, fairly  accurately,  insanity  from  feeble-mindedness.  Epi- 
lepsy, it  is  true,  gives  apparently  much  the  same  result  as  insanity, 
and  it  is  sometimes  difficult  to  say  by  this  method  whether  it  is 
the  one  or  the  other,  but  they  are  distinguished  in  either  case 
from  distinct  feeble-mindedness.  A  child  suffering  from  simple 
arrest  of  development  goes  to  a  certain  point  in  the  scale  then 


INSANITY  505 

stops  rather  abruptly,  whereas  a  person  with  a  diseased  brain 
will  answer  a  part  of  the  questions  in  a  number  of  different  years, 
missing  some  questions  in  all  of  these  years,  showing  that  disease 
has  affected  some  of  these  mental  processes  while  not  affecting 
others.  This  "  scattering,"  as  it  is  called,  has  been  proved  to 
be  characteristic  of  epilepsy  and  of  insanity. 

Here  at  Vineland  were  collected  some  few  years  ago  all  of  the 
cases  that  showed  *' scattering"  by  the  Binet  test.  Out  of  the 
twenty  that  were  thus  recorded  four  had  gone  to  an  insane  asy- 
lum within  a  year,  even  tho  at  the  time  the  test  was  made  there 
was  no  suspicion  of  insanity  about  them.  These  were  of  course 
cases  of  feeble-mindedness  plus  insanity.  The  brain  that  has 
been  arrested  in  its  development  thus  causing  feeble-mindedness 
may  later  become  diseased,  and  so  we  have  insanity  in  a  feeble- 
minded person.  These  cases  of  insane  feeble-minded  are  some- 
times difficult  to  recognize,  but  usually  they  show  sooner  or  later 
such  positive  signs  of  insanity  that  all  doubt  is  removed.  The 
need  for  autopsies  and  histological  examinations  in  all  such  cases 
is  evident.  The  pecuh'arities  of  insanity  in  the  feeble-minded 
is  a  chapter  in  the  story  of  feeble-mindedness  which  is  not  yet 
written. 

The  real  theme  of  the  present  section  is  not  the  question  of 
the  insane  feeble-minded,  but  the  question  of  the  relation  of 
insanity  in  the  family  to  feeble-mindedness  in  the  same  family, 
not  in  the  same  individual. 

Previous  to  the  present  investigation  we  at  Vineland  shared 
the  common  idea  that  insanity  and  feeble-mindedness  were  largely 
interchangeable  in  the  same  families ;  that  is  to  say,  there  was 
a  neuropathic  taint  which  sometimes  manifested  itself  as  insanity 
and  in  other  individuals  as  feeble-mindedness.  We  were  accord- 
ingly prepared  to  find  our  charts  heavily  sprinkled  with  insane 
individuals.  Great  has  been  our  surprise  therefore  to  find  the 
number  of  insane  persons  so  much  smaller  than  was  anticipated. 

Inspection  of  the  charts  themselves  does  not  convince  one  that 


\ 


5o6 


FEEBLE-  MINDEDNESS 


insanity  in  the  ancestry  has  any  very  potent  influence  toward 

causing  feeble-mindedness.     It  undoubtedly  may  be  a  symptom 

of   nervous  derangement  which  will  occasionally  give  rise  to 

feeble-mindedness. 

Table  XIV 

SHOWING    INSANITY    AS    IT    APPEARS    ON    OUR    CHARTS 

Of  300  charts  62  or  20.6%  show  Insanity,  divided  as  follows: 
Hereditary  Group 


Insane  Persons  appear  on 
Charts  Numbered 

Number  of  Cases 
ON  Each  Chart 

Direct 
Line  and  Sibs 

Collateral 

29 

4 
97 

56 

11,  32,  61,  loi,  154 

12,  16,  19,  21,  34,  35,  43, 
50,52,  58,  71,72,82,  91, 
no,  119,  126,  132,  145, 
151,  156,  159,  160,  161 

7 
6 

4 
3 

2 

I 

5 
5 
4 
0 

9 

20 

2 

I 
(S 

3 

I 

4 

Total  charts  2>2>  or  20.1  %  of  the  Hereditary  Group  of  164  charts. 
Total  individuals  54  or  0.78  %  of  all  persons  on  charts  of  Hereditary 


Group. 


Probably  Hereditary  Group 


183 

6 

4 

2 

170 

3 

2 

I 

165, 177, 184 

2 

3 

3 

179,  180,  186,  192,  196 

I 

4 

I 

Total  charts  10  or  29.4  %  of  the  entire  Group  of  Probably  H.  (34  charts). 

Total  individuals  20  or  1.79  %  of  all  persons  on  charts  of  Probably 
Hereditary  Group. 

Total  Hereditary  (Certain  and  Probable)  43  charts  or  21.7  %  of  the 
198  charts  of  these  two  groups. 

By  individuals  74  or  0.92  %  of  all  persons  in  these  groups. 


INSANITY 


507 


Table  XIV  —  Continued 

SHOWING   INSANITY   AS    IT   APPEARS    ON   OUR   CHARTS 

Neuropathic  Group 


Insane  Persons  appear  on 
Charts  Numbered 

Number  of  Cases 
ON  Each  Chart 

Direct 
Line  and  Sibs 

Collateral 

200 

7 

6 

I 

225,  228 

4 

7 

I 

233 

3 

0 

3 

220,   222,   235 

2 

6 

0 

205,     207,     209,     210,     227,1 
229,   231,   234                             J 

I 

8 

0 

Total  Charts  15  or  40.5  %  of  the  entire  Group  of  37  Neuropathic  Charts. 

Total  individuals  32  or  2.64  %  of  all  persons  on  charts  of  Neuropathic 

Group. 

Accident  Group 


240,  253,  259,  288 


Total  Charts  4  or  7  %  of  the  entire  Accident  Group  of  57  charts. 

Total  individuals  4  or  0.20  %  of  all  persons  on  charts  of  Accident  Group. 


Summary 


Hereditary 

Probably  H. 

Neuropathic 

Accident 

No.  of  Charts 

33 

10 

15 

4 

No.  Individuals 
Men 
Women 

Dir. 

23 
20 

CoL 

4 
7 

Dir. 

3 
10 

CoL 

3 
4 

Dir. 

13 
14 

CoL 

3 
2 

Dir. 
2 

2 

CoL 
0 
0 

Total  Persons 

43 

II 

13 

7 

27 

5 

4 

0 

Total  Men  51.     Total  Women  59.     Total  Insane  no. 
In  direct  line  with  our  cases  87,  in  collateral  line  23. 

Of  6868  Persons  in  Hereditary  Group  54  or  0.78%  are  Insane 

Of  1 1 15  Persons  in  Probably  H.  Group  20  or  1.79%  are  Insane 

Of  121 2  Persons  in  Neuropathic  Group  32  or  2.64%  are  Insane 

Of  1 913  Persons  in  Accident  Group  4  or  0.20%  are  Insane 

Of  281  Persons  in  No  Cause  Group  o                  are  Insane 


Of  11,389  Persons  in  all  Groups 


xio  or  0.96%  are  Insane 


5o8 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


The  following  table  shows  what  would  be  expected  compared 
with  what  we  actually  find. 


Group 

Expectation  i 

Actual 

Too  Many 

Too  Few 

Hereditary       .     . 

66 

54 

12 

Probably  H.    .     . 

II 

20 

9 

Neuropathic     .     . 

12 

32 

20 

Accident     .      .     . 

i8 

4 

14 

No  Cause  .      .     . 

3 

o 

3 

The  Insanity  is  clearly  in  the  Neuropathic  group,  not  among  the  Heredi- 
tary Feeble-minded. 

Not  only  is  there  no  close  relationship  between  insanity  and 
feeble-mindedness,  but  the  conviction  has  grown  since  the  begin- 
ning of  our  study  of  the  problem,  that  these  two  types  of  abnor- 
mal mentality  belong  at  opposite  ends  of  the  physical  scale.  It 
is  an  old  and  cherished  thot  that  feelDle-mindedness  is  a  kind  of 
reversion  to  a  more  primitive  type  of  the  human  race.  The 
idea  of  reversion  in  this  sense  is  no  longer  held,  since  the  Men- 
dehan  law  has  come  in  to  give  us  a  clearer  and  more  satisfactory 
explanation.  Once  the  hereditary  character  of  feeble-minded- 
ness is  recognized  one  can  hardly  keep  from  thinking  of  a  feeble- 
minded person  as  belonging  to  a  strain  that  has  not  yet  developed 
to  the  higher  levels  of  intelHgence.  In  other  words,  we  come 
back  again  to  the  view  of  a  more  primitive  form  of  humanity, 
a  vigorous  animal  organism  of  low  intellect  but  strong  physique 
—  the  wild  man  of  to-day.  The  striking  thing  is  that  this  viev; 
is  remarkably  borne  out  in  many  phases  of  the  physical  nature 
of  this  group.  One  cannot  study  the  moron  without  discovering 
that  he  is  not  only  largely  free  from  the  marks  of  degenera- 
tion, frequently  possessing  a  comely  face,  but  he  also  has 
many  of  the  physical  characteristics  of  a  more  primitive  stock. 


^  See  page  480,  under  Table  VIH, 


INSANITY  VS.   MENTAL  DEFECTIVENESS  509 

A  dentist  assures  me  that  the  finest  set  of  teeth  he  has  ever  seen 
is  in  the  mouth  of  one  of  our  morons. 

It  is  true  that  our  study  of  the  Height  and  Weight  of  the 
Feeble-minded  (see  Journal  of  Nervous  and  Mental  Diseases, 
April,  191 2,  Vol.  39,  pages  217-236)  shows  the  average  moron 
to  be  no  taller  nor  heavier  than  the  average  normal,  and  moreover 
they  seem  to  have  stopped  growing  two  or  three  years  earUer 
than  the  normal  person.  It  must  be  remembered  however  that 
these  figures  are  the  average  of  all  morons  and  include  those  that 
are  defective  by  disease,  accident  and  neuropathic  ancestry, 
and  it  is  quite  possible  that  if  we  had  the  statistics  on  the  pure 
hereditary  morons  we  might  find  that  they  even  exceed  the 
stature  of  the  average  normal  person.  They  at  least  equal  it. 
They  also  have  strength.  This  does  not  show  in  statistical 
studies  where  the  dynamometer  is  used  because  such  measure- 
ments involve  will  power  and  intelHgence. 

The  dynamometer  itself  is  a  measure  of  intelligence  among 
these  defectives.  They  are  unable  to  exert  their  strength  in 
obedience  to  the  command,  "squeeze  this  as  hard  as  possible." 
But  wherever  an  exercise  of  strength  is  called  forth  by  a  natural 
situation  and  their  action  is  impulsive  or  instinctive  one  discovers 
at  once  how  great  is  the  strength.  The  writer  was  one  of  six 
persons  required  to  hold  one  of  these  boys  in  the  chair  while  the 
dentist  looked  at  his  teeth.  That  same  boy  could  not  squeeze 
a  kilogram  on  the  dynamometer  in  spite  of  all  efforts  to  induce 
him  to  do  it. 

An  examination  of  the  inmates  of  any  Institution  will  show 
among  the  cases  of  hereditary  feeble-mindedness  a  large  number 
of  tall,  broad-shouldered,  heavy,  thick-set  individuals  with  great 
strength.  There  is  an  incoordination  of  their  movements  and  a 
certain  coarseness  of  features  which  do  not  make  them  attrac- 
tive, but  which  in  many  ways  suggest  the  savage.  The  fact 
that  many  of  these  defectives  become  vicious  and  dangerous  when 
mistreated  possibly  points  in  the  same  direction. 


5  lo  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

Sometimes  these  hereditary  cases  when  of  a  low  type  swallow 
anything  that  comes  within  their  reach  that  is  small  enough  to. 
be  swallowed,  —  sticks,  stones,  leather  and  the  Hke.  But 
rarely  do  these  things  disturb  their  health,  which  again  would 
seem  to  indicate  a  primitive  digestive  system.  Wounds  seem 
to  heal  many  times  where  in  normal  people  they  would  give 
much  trouble.  There  is  apparently  more  or  less  resistance  to 
certain  diseases.  Theije  is  a  dullness  to  pain.  These  with  other 
facts  have  given  the  impression  that  we  are  deaHng  with  a 
primitive,  crude,  coarse  form  of  the  human  organism;  not  a 
'' reversion"  but  a  primitive  strain  that  has  remained  much  as 
in  the  savage  condition. 

On  the  other  hand  it  is  maintained  by  psychiatrists  that 
many  if  not  all  forms  of  insanity  come  upon  individuals  who 
have  what  we  may  term  a  more  elaborately  developed  organ- 
ism, a  nervous  system  that  is  highly  developed,  that  is  high 
strung,  and  that  requires  only  a  sHght  shock  to  throw  it  over 
into  an  abnormal  condition. 

If  this  view  of  the  two  conditions  is  correct,  it  would  throw 
much  Hght  upon  many  things  in  connection  with  them.  It  is 
true  that  an  unusually  high  percentage  of  feeble-minded  persons 
become  insane,  but  whether  these  persons  are  predominantly  in 
the  Hereditary  Group  and  of  the  moron  grade,  it  is  difficult  to 
say ;  possibly  it  would  be  found  that  they  do  not  interfere  with  the 
argument.     At  least  the  above  view  seems  worth  consideration. 

GENIUS  AND  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

Much  confusion  exists  in  the  popular  mind  in  regard  to  the 
relation  of  feeble-mindedness  to  genius.  It  is  quite  commonly 
supposed  that  it  is  but  a  step  from  the  one  to  the  other,  and  that 
the  presence  of  an  idiot  in  the  family  may  mean  that  there  is  a 
genius  at  the  other  end.  So  strong  is  this  beUef  that  some  object 
to  all  methods  of  Hmiting  the  propagation  of  the  feeble-minded, 
fearing  to  deprive  the  world  of  geniuses.     It  is  probable  that 


GENIUS  511 

this  view  is  based  upon  the  misunderstanding  of  the  difference 
between  feeble-mindedness  and  insanity.  There  is  no  question 
that  it  often  is  a  simple  step  from  insanity  to  genius ;  indeed, 
there  are  many  cases  of  genius  that  would  pass  with  any  psychi- 
atrist as  true  insanities.  Apparently  the  decision  as  to  whether 
a  man  is  called  insane  or  a  genius  depends  upon  whether  his 
special  form  of  aberration  proves  to  be  useful  or  dangerous. 

I  beHeve  that  in  cases  of  hereditary  feeble-mindedness  we  are 
dealing  with  a  mentahty  upon  which  it  is  absolutely  impossible 
to  graft  any  kind  of  genius ;  that  there  is  no  connection  between 
feeble-mindedness  and  genius.  It  is  significant  that  in  our  300 
family  histories  totahng  11,389  individuals  not  a  single  genius 
has  been  found.  These  figures  certainly  can  be  taken  at  their 
face  value  because  it  is  evident  that  had  there  been  a  genius  in 
any  of  these  families  all  of  the  other  members  would  have  called 
our  attention  to  it. 

In  the  case  of  the  neuropathic  ancestry  and  accidental  cases 
the  situation  might  be  different  from  the  hereditary.  In  the  neu- 
ropathic especially  it  might  seem  that  we  were  deaUng  with  the 
kind  of  nervous  system  which  might  give  rise  to  those  pecuKar  ec- 
centricities which  sometimes  spell  genius.  It  is  perhaps  signifi- 
cant that  even  in  this  group  we  have  discovered  no  geniuses.  It 
may  indicate  what  some  students  are  inclined  to  claim,  that  there 
is  no  case  of  feeble-mindedness  unless  there  is  an  hereditary  taint, 
the  only  exception  to  this  being  the  cases  of  actual  traumatism. 

Not  only  are  there  no  geniuses,  but  the  fact  cannot  be  too 
strongly  emphasized  that  even  the  people  who  are  considered 
normal  (and  so  charted)  in  the  families  of  the  Hereditary  Group 
are  not  as  a  rule  people  of  average  intelligence,  but  in  almost  all 
cases  are  of  a  low  grade  of  intelHgence  and  often  low  type  socially. 
So  far  as  the  eugenic  problerrTis  concerned  therefore,  there  is  no 
argument  against  eugenical  measures  for  fear  of  cutting  off 
possible  geniuses  by  preventing  procreation  in  families  where 
hereditary  feeble-mindedness  exists. 


512  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS  AND  EPILEPSY 

The  relation  of  feeble-mindedness  to  epilepsy  is  one  which  has 
never  been  cleared  up. 

Epilepsy  is  a  generic  term  under  which  are  grouped  a  number  of 
different  kinds  of  epilepsy.  It  is  possible  that  some  of  these  are 
intimately  connected  with  feeble-mindedness  either  as  cause  or 
eft'ect,  and  it  is  also  possible  that  others  of  the  epilepsies  have 
no  connection  whatever  with  feeble-mindedness.  While  the 
great  majority  of  the  epileptics  in  our  Institutions  are  feeble- 
minded, this  is  because  they  do  not  come  to  the  Institutions  until 
there  is  such  a  degree  of  mental  deficiency  that  they  are  unable 
to  take  care  of  themselves.  On  the  other  hand  there  is  a  con- 
siderable percentage  of  epileptics  who  have  only  occasional 
seizures,  and  at  other  times  are  perfectly  normal  and  able  to 
carry  on  business  or  manage  their  own  affairs. 

There  is  the  psychic  epilepsy  or  psychical  epileptic  equivalents. 
We  have  made  no  attempt  to  collect  data  in  this  unsettled  field. 
The  relations  here  we  leave  to  the  students  of  epilepsy.  We 
confine  ourselves  to  those  cases  where  the  motor  manifestations 
are  sufficientl}^^«rarked  to  render  a  diagnosis  reasonably  sure. 

There  is  considerable  association  between  epilepsy  of  the  easily 
recognizable  kind  and  feeble-mindedness.  As  to  any  causal 
relation  between  the  two  conditions,  it  seems  evident  that  it  is 
possible  to  make  two  groups.  There  are  those  cases  that  are 
primarily  epileptic  and  in  which  the  epilepsy  acts  to  cause  a 
deterioration  of  mentality  so  that  we  have  eventually  an  in- 
dividual whom  it  is  hard  to  distinguish  from  the  true  feeble- 
minded person.  And  then  there  are  others  who  are  primarily 
feeble-minded  —  perhaps  belonging  to  the  Hereditary  Group, 
perhaps  to  the  Non-hereditary  —  who  acquire  epilepsy.  In 
these  cases  the  epileptic  attacks  often  have  Httle  or  no  apparent 
effect  upon  the  mentahty  of  the  person.  They  remain,  for  many 
years  at  least,  at  the  same  intellectual  level  that  they  have  mani- 
fested since  the  arrest  showed  itself. 


EPILEPSY  513 

It  is  possible  to  divide  epileptics  into  these  two  groups  with 
considerable  accuracy  by  means  of  the  Binet  Scale.  The  person 
who  is  feeble-minded  primarily  and  epileptic  secondarily  re- 
sponds to  the  Binet  questions  as  does  the  purely  feeble-minded 
person.  That  is  to  say,  he  answers  them  up  to  a  certain  point 
and  then  stops  more  or  less  abruptly,  showing  that  at  a  certain 
level  his  mental  development  has  stopped.  He  can  do  every- 
thing up  to  that  level,  nothing  beyond.  The  other, group  shows 
the  scattering  which  was  spoken  of  under  the  head  of  insanity 
(page  505).  This  indicates  that  such  a  person  has  been  at  one 
time  of  higher  intelligence  than  at  the  time  of  examination. 
The  epilepsy  has  interfered  with  the  mental  functioning  along 
certain  Hnes  more  than  along  others,  with  the  result  that  some 
questions  in  the  higher  levels  are  answered  while  some  of  those 
in  the  lower  levels  are  missed.  Sometimes  it  happens,  for  ex- 
ample, that  an  epileptic  will  answer  all  the  questions  in  age  nine 
or  ten  while  failing  on  some  or  all  in  age  six  or  seven. 

That  there  is  any  relation  between  epilepsy  and  feeble-minded- 
ness  in  a  hereditary  way,  that  is  to  say  that  an  epileptic  person 
is  more  apt  to  have  feeble-minded  children  or  vice  versa,  our  data 
give  Httle  evidence  beyond,  the  fact  that  epilepsy  seems  often  to 
indicate  a  neuropathic  condition,  and  that  in  such  famihes  feeble- 
mindedness may  appear. 

We  have  found  seventy-nine  cases  of  epilepsy.  It  must  be 
borne  in  mind  that  we  have  been  making  no  study  of  epilepsy. 
Our  field  workers  were  in  no  wise  qualified  to  determine  epilepsy 
in  any  of  its  more  psychic  phases,  and  our  records  are  of  such 
individuals  as  have  been  diagnosed  by  the  local  physician  oi- 
have  so  many  and  such  characteristic  features  that  it  is  apparent 
to  the  layman  that  they  suffer  from  this  malady. 

The  somewhat  larger  percentage  of  the  cases  in  the  neuro- 
pathic group  is  perhaps  insignificant,  since  the  presence  of  epi- 
lepsy in  some  members  of  the  family  has  been  one  of  the  criteria 
determining  this  group.  The  small  number  in  the  accident 
group  as  compared  with  the  hereditary  is  distinctly  significant. 

2L 


514 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


These  cases  of  epilepsy  will  be  found  on  the  following  charts : 

Hereditary  Charts  —  Nos.  8,  9,  ii,  12,  13,  15,  17,  20,  21,  29,  30,  37,  39,  45, 
47,  52,  56,  70,  71,  75,  80,  81,  ^2,  85,  107,  109,  114,  118,  141,  144,  151, 
152,  158,  161 

Probably  Hereditary  Charts  — Nos.  172,  177,  186,  189,  190 

Neuropathic  Charts  —  Nos.  200,  203,  206,  208,  215,  220,  221,  225,  233 

Accident  Charts  —  Nos.  237,  252,  260,  289 

No  Cause  Chart  — No.  298 

Table  XV 

Of  6868  Persons  in  Hereditary  Group  56  or  0.81%  are  Epileptic       ^ 

Of  1 115  Persons  in  Probably  H.  Group  5  or  0.44%  are  Epileptic 

Of  1 212  Persons  in  Neuropathic  Group  13  or  1.07%  are  Epileptic 

Of  1 9 13  Persons  in  Accident  Group  4  or  0.20%  are  Epileptic 

Of  281  Persons  in  No  Cause  Group  i  or  0.03%  are  Epileptic 

Of  11,389  Persons  in  all  Groups 


79  or  ojSQ^are  Epileptic 

The  following  table    shows  what  would    be  expected   com- 
pared with  what  we  actually  find. 


Group 

Expectation  1 

Actual 

Too  Many 

Too  Few 

Hereditary    .... 
Probably  H.       .      .      . 
Neuropathic       .     .     . 
Accident        .... 
No  Cause      .... 

48 

8 
8 

2 

56 

.5 

13 

4 

I 

8 
5 

3 

9 

I 

Epilepsy  is  seen  to  predominate  shghtly  in  the  Hereditary  and 
Neuropathic  Groups.  - — 

CRIMINALITY   AND   FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

Every  feeble-minded  person  is  a  potential  criminal.  This  is 
necessarily  true  since  the  feeble-minded  lacks  one  or  the  other  of 
the  factors  essential  to  a  moral  life  —  an  understanding  of  right 
and  wrong,  and  the  power  of  control.  If  he  does  not  know  right 
and  wrong,  does  not  really  appreciate  this  question,  then  of 
course  he  is  as  likely  to  do  the  wrong  thing  as  the  right.     Even 

^  See  page  480,  under  Table  VIII. 


CRIMINALITY  5^5 

if  he  is  of  sufficient  intelligence  and  has  had  the  necessary  train- 
ing so  that  he  does  know,  since  he  lacks  the  power  of  control  he  is 
unable  to  resist  his  natural  impulses.  _ 

Whether  the  feeble-minded  person  actually  becomes  a  crim-N 
inal  depends  upon  two  factors,  his  temperament  and  his  environ-  / 
ment      If  he  is  of  a  quiet,  phlegmatic  temperament  with  thoroly 
weakened  impulses  he  may  never  be  impelled   to  do  anything 
seriously  wrong.     In  this  case  when  he  cannot  earn  a  living  he 
will  starve  to  death  unless  philanthropic  people  provide  for  him. 
On  the  other  hand,  if  he  is  a  nervous,  excitable,  impulsive  person 
he  is  almost  sure  to  turn  in  the  direction  of^giiminaUty.     For- 
tunately for  the  welfare  of  society  the  feeble-minded  person  as 
a  rule  lacks  energy.    But  whatever  his  temperament,  m  a  bad 
environment  he  may  still  become  a  criminal,  the  phlegmatic 
temperament  becoming  simply  the  dupe  of  more  intelligent  crim- 
inals   while   the   excitable,   nervous,   impulsive   feeble-minded 
person  may  escape  criminaUty  if  his  necessities  are  provided  for, 
and  his  impulses  and  energies  are  turned  in  a  wholesome  direction. 
It  is  not  easy  to  decide  beforehand  which  of  these  conditions 
is  fulfilled  in  any  particular  group.     In  the  data  that  we  are 
studying,  criminality  seems  at  firsUiahUobe  surprisingly  small. 
This  is  partly  explained  by  the  fact  that  our  cases  mclude  only 
those  who  have  been  under  arrest.     Thirty-two  charts  with  a 
total  of  forty-five  individuals  show  criminaUty.     That  is,  crim- 
inality appears  on  lo  %  of  the  charts,  but  only  *ne^hii:d.i»t*-% 
of  the  individuals  are  criminaUstic.     It  is  perhaps  significant 
that  the  greater  proportion  ol  these  are  intheHereditary  Group. 
Thirty  of  the  charts  in  the  Hereditary  Groups,  or  15.1  %,  have 
criminals  on  them ;  in  the  Neuropathic  Group  two  charts  or  5.4  % ; 
in  the  Accidents  none.     The  criminal  individuals  ar^a5^%  of 
the  persons  in  the  Hereditary  Groups;  0.24%  of  those  m  the 
Neuropathic  Group  and  none  of  the  accidents.    Of  the  45  cnm- 
inals  41  are  men,  4  are  women,  while  24  are  known  to  be  feeble- 
minded, I  is  normal  and  20  unknown. 


5i6 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


It  is  probable  that  in  these  cases  two  factors  account  for  the 
small  proportion  of  criminals.  These  people  are  very  largely 
from  rural  districts,  and  their  temptations  perhaps  have  not  been 
so  great.  But  more  significant  is  the  fact  that  in  such  communi- 
ties minor  kinds  of  crime  are  not  taken  account  of,  so  that  they 
do  not  get  marked  "criminal"  because  they  were  never  arrested. 
In  the  city  cases  our  data  are  always  much  less  complete.  There 
are  individuals  of  whom  we  have  learned  enough  to  determine 
their  mentality  while  not  being  able  to  follow  their  careers.  They 
have  left  home  or  have  been  lost  sight  of  and  may  be  to-day  in 
prison  without  their  friends  and  relatives  knowing  anything  about 
it.  Undoubtedly  there  are  cases  that  escape  in  this  way,  but  on 
the  whole  it  seems  probable  that  the  fact  of  a  criminal  life  would 
be  one  that  we  would  be  likely  to  discover  if  it  existed.  Such 
facts  are  hard  to  conceal. 

There  are  nine  criminahstic  individuals  on  the  charts  that  do 
not  belong  to  the  family,  that  is  to  say,  they  have  married  in, 
and  they  are  only  significant  as  showing  the  kind  of  company 
these  people  keep. 

Table  XM. 

showing  criminality  as  it  appears  on  our  charts 

Of  300  charts  a  total  of  32  or  10.6  %  show  criminality,  divided  as 
follows : 

Hereditary  Group 


Criminalistic  Persons  appear 
ON  Charts  Numbered 

Number  of  Cases 
ON  Each  Chart 

Direct 
Line  and  Sibsi 

Collateral  i 

29 

5 

2 

3 

7,  64,  15 

3 

4 

S 

2,  3,  4,  5,  16,  21,31,37,48,1 

57,  62,  65,  72,  79,  84,  90, 
III,  116,  119,  124,  131, 

I 

18 

5 

156,  159                             J 

See  note,  p.  500. 


CRIMINALITY 


517 


Table  XVI  —  Continued 

SHOWING   CRIMINALITY   AS   IT   APPEARS    ON   OUR   CHARTS 

Total  charts  27  or  16.4  %  of  Hereditary  Group  of  164  charts. 

Total  individuals  37  or  0.53  %  of  all  persons  on  charts  of  Hereditary 

Group. 

Probably  Hereditary  Group 


Criminalistic  Persons  appear 
ON  Charts  Numbered 

Number  of  Cases 
ON  Each  Chart 

Direct 
Line  and  Sibs^ 

Collateral  1 

176 
171,   186 

3 
I 

0 
0 

3 
2 

Total  charts  3  or  8.8%  of  the  entire  group  of  Probably  Hereditary  — 
34  charts. 

Total  individuals  5  or  0.44  %  of  all  persons  on  charts  of  Probably  Hered- 
itary Group. 

Total  Hereditary  (certain  and  probable)  30  charts  or  15.1  %  of  the  19S 
charts  of  these  two  groups. 

By  individuals  42  or  0.52  %  of  all  persons  in  these  groups. 


Neuropathic  Group 

206 

I 

I 

0 

217 

2 

2 

0 

Total  charts  2  or  5.4%  of  the  entire  group  of  37  Neuropathic  charts. 

Total  individuals  3  or  0.25  %  of  all  persons  on  charts  of  Neuropathic 

Group. 

Accident  Group  —  No  Cases 

Summary 


Hereditary 

Probably  H. 

Neuropathic 

Accident 

No.  charts     .      .      . 

27 

3 

2 

0 

No.  Individuals 
Men     .... 
Women     .      .      . 

Dir. 

22 

2 

Col. 
12 

I 

Dir. 
0 
0 

Col. 

4 

I 

Dir. 
0 

Col. 
0 
0 

Dir. 
0 
0 

Co'. 
0 
0 

Total  persons     .      . 

24 

13 

0 

5 

3 

0 

0 

0 

1  See  note,  p.  500. 


5i8 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


Total  Men,  41.     Total  Women,  4.     Total  Criminal,  45. 

In  direct  line  with  our  cases,  27  —  in  collateral  Unes,  18. 

Nine  criminals  (not  included  in  above)  have  married  into  these  families 
—  7  men,  2  women.  Eight  of  these  are  in  the  Hereditary  Group,  one  in 
the  Neuropathic. 

Of  6868  Persons  in  Hereditary  Group    37  or  0.53%  are  Criminalistic 

Of  1 115  Persons  in  Probably  H.  Group    5  or  0.44%  are  Crimmalistic 

Of  1 212  Persons  in  Neuropathic  Group    3  or  0.24%  are  Criminalistic 

Of  1 9 13  Persons  in  Accident  Group          o                   are  Criminalistic 

Of  281  Persons  in  No  Cause  Group        o                   are  Criminalistic 

Of  11,389  Persons  in  all  Groups  45  or  0.39%  are  Criminalistic 

The  following  table  shows  what  would  be  expected  compared 
with  what  we  actually  find. 


Groxip 

Expectation  1 

Actual 

Too  Many 

Too  Few 

Hereditary    .... 
Probably  H.       .     .      . 
Neuropathic       .     .     . 
Accident        .... 
No  Cause      .... 

27 
4 
5 
8 

I 

37 
5 
3 
0 
0 

10 

I 

2 
8 

I 

The  strong  preponderance  in  the  Hereditary  Group  is  signifi- 
cant. 

SYPHILIS 

None  of  the  diseases  supposed  to  be  potent  causes  of  feeble- 
mindedness is  so  difficult  of  investigation,  so  enigmatical,  as 
syphilis.  Not  only  in  the  popular  mind  but  in  the  professional  thot 
it  is  given  a  prominent  place,  yet  of  all  the  causes  there  is  per- 
haps none  for  which  there  is  less  evidence.  This  does  not  neces- 
sarily mean  that  it  is  not  a  cause,  but  simply  that  it  is  not  proved. 

The  terrible  nature  of  the  disease ;  the  serious  results  that  it  is 
known  to  produce,  such  as  miscarriage,  deaths  in  infancy,  general 
paralysis  of  the  insane ;  the  fact  that  it  is  one  of  the  two  diseases 
that  can  be  transmitted  from  the  mother  to  the  child,  because 
the  germs  can  pass  thru  the  chorion  cells ;  the  fact  of  its  close 


SYPHILIS 


519 


association  with  sexual  immorality ;  all  tend  to  render  it  in  the 
minds  of  most  people  a  horror  of  which  anything  can  be  beHeved. 
Under  these  conditions  it  is  but  natural  to  expect  that  it  might 
be  a  cause  of  feeble-mindedness.  The  fact  that  its  presence  is  so 
generally  concealed  tempts  us  to  argue  that  if  we  knew  more 
about  it  we  should  find  it  standing  in  causal  relation ;  and  this 
secrecy  makes  it  impossible  to  arrive  at  the  truth. 

We  have  had  no  better  success  in  getting  at  the  true  history 
than  have  other  investigators.  We  have  recorded  only  46  cases 
found  on  27  charts.  That  the  number  should  be  much  greater 
than  this  there  is  no  doubt. 

It  is  well  understood  by  the  medical  profession  that  a  mat- 
ing, which  shows  first  a  number  of  miscarriages  followed  by 
deaths  in  infancy,  and  finally  Hving  offspring,  is  a  picture  that 
means  syphiHs  in  one  or  both  of  the  parents  almost  without 
question.  A  survey  of  the  charts  with  this  in  mind  will  show  at 
once  that  in  a  large  number  of  cases  syphiHs  might  be  suspected 
even  where  not  so  marked. 

A  glance  at  the  Table  of  distribution  of  the  syphiUtic  cases 

will  show  that  there  is  little  evidence  that  syphilis  is  a  cause  of 

feeble-mindedness.     The  cases  are  very  largely  in  the  Hereditary 

Group. 

Table  XVII 

SHOWING   THE    DISTRIBUTION    OF    SYPHILIS    (sy)    ON    OUR    CHARTS 

Sy  appears  on  27  charts  or  9.0  %  of  all  the  charts,  divided  as  follows: 


Hereditary 

Probably  H. 

Neur. 

Ace. 

No  Cause 

No.  of  Charts  .     . 

17 

3 

4 

2 

I 

Men 

Women  .... 

Dir. 

7 
6 

Col. 

8 
14 

Dir. 
2 
0 

Col. 
I 
0 

Dir. 

3 
0 

Col. 

I 
0 

Dir. 

2 

I 

Col. 
0 
0 

Dir. 
0 

I 

Col. 
0 
0 

Totals     .... 

13 

22 

2 

I 

3 

I 

3 

0 

I 

0 

Total  46.     Total  Men  24.     Total  Women  22. 


520 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


Of  164  Charts  in  Hereditary  Group     17  or  10.36%  show  Syphilis  (Sy) 
Of    34  Charts  in  Probably  H.  Group    3  or    8.82%  show  Syphilis 
Of    37  Charts  in  Neuropathic  Group    4  or  10.81%  show  Syphilis 
Of    57  Charts  in  Accident  Group  2  or  3.50%    show  Syphilis 

Of      8  Charts  in  No  Cause  Group         i  or  12.5%  shows  Syphilis 

Of  300  Charts  27  or  8.6  %     show  Syphilis 

Of  6868  Persons  in  Hereditary  Group    35  or  o.^^a^are  Syphilitic  (Sy) 
Of  1115  Persons  in  Probably  H.  Group    3  or  0.26%  are  Syphilitic 
Of  1 21 2  Persons  in  Neuropathic  Group    4  or  0.33%  are  Syphilitic 
Of  1913  Persons  in  Accident  Group  3  or  0.15%  are  Syphilitic 

Of    281  Persons  in  No  Cause  Group         i  or  0.35%  are  Syphilitic 


Of  11,389  Persons  on  all  Charts 


46  or  0.40%  are  Syphilitic 


The  following  table  shows  what  would  be  expected,  if  there 
were  a  uniform  distribution,  compared  with  what  we  actually  find. 


Group 

Expectation  1 

Actual 

Too  Many 

Too  Few 

Hereditary    .... 

28 

35 

7 

Probably  H.       .     .     . 

4 

3 

I 

Neuropathic       .     .     . 

5 

4 

I 

Accident       .... 

8 

3 

5 

No  Cause     .... 

I 

I 

0 

0 

The  Wassermann  test  is  now  being  applied  to  our  children  and 
under  the  most  perfectly  controlled  conditions. 

Twenty-nine  of  the  children  involved  in  this  study  have  been 
tested ;  20  of  these  gave  a  positive  reaction.  Some  of  these  cases 
were  selected  because  of  suspected  syphilis ;  in  5  we  had  a  pre- 
vious history  of  syphiUs  in  the  family.  In  one  case  both  paternal 
grandparents  were  affected  ;  in  the  second  it  was  both  parents  and 
a  brother ;  in  the  third  it  was  a  relative  of  the  mother ;  in  the 
fourth  it  was  the  father ;  and  in  the  fifth  the  father's  brother. 
This  leaves  1 5  cases  where  we  get  a  positive  Wassermann  but  with 
no  history  of  syphilis.  Of  these  29  children  only  one  has  evi- 
dently had  an  infection. 

^  See  page  480,  under  Table  VIII. 


BLINDNESS  AND  DEAFNESS  521 

There  are  9  cases  with  history  of  syphilis  which  gave  negative 
Wassermann  reaction.  In  all  but  two  the  syphihs  was  in  the 
father ;  in  one  of  these  two  it  was  in  both  father  and  mother ; 
in  the  other  case  it  was  in  the  paternal  aunt. 

The  20  positive  Wassermanns  are  distributed  as  follows: 
9  are  in  the  Hereditary  Group,  3  in  the  Neuropathic,  3  in  the 
Meningitis,  2  are  Mongolians,  2  Accidents,  and  i  Unclassified. 
It  is  thus  seen  that  these  cases  are  all  attributed  to  other  causes 
than  syphilis.  To  the  extent  that  these  others  are  acceptable 
causes  there  is  no  need  of  calling  in  syphilis  to  account  for  the 
mental  defect  nor  is  there  any  argument  therefor. 

While  these  figures  are  few  and  any  argument  based  on  them 
is  incomplete,  yet  one  cannot  help  having  the  feeling  that  if 
syphilis  is  a  cause  of  feeble-mindedness,  it  certainly  is  not  a  very 
potent  one.  One  is  also  led  to  question  it  from  consideration  of 
such  cases  as  the  following : 

In  Case  284,  Fred  K.  shows  a  positive  Wassermann.  His 
father  and  five  sibs  were  normal  and  are  children  of  a  syphilitic 
father  and  a  syphilitic  mother.  This  is  a  striking  instance  of 
those  cases  where  syphilis  does  not  produce  feeble-mindedness, 
and  it  suggests  a  line  of  evidence  which  every  physician  can 
dupHcate ;  that  is,  parents  one  or  both  syphilitic,  children 
normal. 

In  conclusion,  our  charts  bear  abundant  evidence  of  the  well- 
known  fact  that  s}^hilis  produces  miscarriage  and  early  death, 
and  the  data  indicate  that  if  it  ever  produces  feeble-mindedness 
it  does  so  only  under  most  favorable  conditions.  What  those 
conditions  are  cannot  be  shown  until  we  have  much  more  careful 
studies. 

BLINDNESS  AND   DEAFNESS 

Blindness  and  deafness  appear  in  34  and  45  individuals  respec- 
tively. Our  records  do  not  always  show  whether  or  not  the  cases 
are  congenital.     We  have  endeavored  to  omit  the  cases  where 


522 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


the  condition  was  due  to  accident  but  it  has  not  always  been 
possible  to  determine  even  that.  The  fact  that  the  blindness 
is  nearly  all  in  the  hereditary  cases  is  significant. 

The  deafness  on  the  other  hand  appears  relatively  larger  in 
the  neuropathic   than   in   any  other  group. 

Blindness 

Of  6868  Persons  in  Hereditary  Group     28  or  0.40%  are  Blind 

Of  1 1 15  Persons  in  Probably  H.  Group    i  or  0.08%  are  Blind 

Of  1 21 2  Persons  in  Neuropathic  Group    3  or  0.24%  are  Blind 

Of  1913  Persons  in  Accident  Group           2  or  0.10%  are  Blind 

Of  281  Persons  in  No  Cause  Group        o                   are  Blind 


Of  11,389  Persons  in  all  Groups 


34  or  0.29%  are  Blind 


The  following  table  shows  what  would  be  expected  compared 
with  what  we  actually  find. 


Group 

Expectation  ^ 

Actual 

Too  Many 

Too  Few 

Hereditary  .... 
Probably  H.     .     .     . 
Neuropathic     .     .     . 
Accident      .... 
No  Cause    .... 

20 
3 
4 
6 

I 

28 
I 

3 
2 

0 

8 

2 

I 

4 

I 

Deafness 

Of  6868  Persons  in  Hereditary  Group     23  or  0.33  %  are  Deaf 

Of  II 1 5  Persons  in  Probably  H.  Group    5  or  0.44%  are  Deaf 

Of  1 21 2  Persons  in  Neuropathic  Group  11  or  0.90%  are  Deaf 

Of  1913  Persons  in  Accident  Group          6  or  0.31%  are  Deaf 

Of  281  Persons  in  No  Cause  Group         o                   are  Deaf 


Of  11,389  Persons  in  all  Groups 


45  or  0.39%  are  De^ai— ""^ 


The  following  table  shows  what  would  be  expected  compared 
with  what  we  actually  find. 

1  See  page  480,  under  Table  VHI. 


CONSANGUINITY 


523 


Group 

Expectation  i 

Actual 

Too  Many 

Too  Few 

Hereditary  .... 
Probably  H.     .     .     . 
Neuropathic     .     .     , 
Accident      .... 
No  Cause    .... 

27     . 
4 
5 
8 

I 

23 

5 

II 

6 
0 

I 

6 

4 

2 

I 

CONSANGUINITY 

There  is  a  common  belief  that  f eeble-mindedness  is  caused  by 
consanguinity  of  the  parents,  —  that  if  cousins  marry  some  of 
the  children  will  be  feeble-minded.  There  are  30  cases  of  cousin- 
marriages  among  our  2058  matings.  Of  these  20  are  in  the  Heredi- 
tary Group.  There  is  no  argument  from  these  since  the  children 
are  feeble-minded  by  heredity.  Inspection  of  the  charts  does 
not  show  that  there  are  more  defectives  where  the  parents  are 
related  than  where  they  are  not  related^  These  cases  are  on 
Charts  22,  29,  30,  40,  46,  59,  70,  74,  80,  120,  123,  124,  134,  142, 

143,  154,  159  and  164. 

Case  187  is  in  the  Probably  Hereditary  Group.  It  is  interest- 
ing because  the  father  is  probably  feeble-minded  and  his  wife 
being  his  second  cousin  may  have  carried  the  same  defect,  yet 
from  this  mating  there  are  three  normal  children  and  no  de- 
fectives.  \„.^ 

Case  252  has  been  discussed  in  the  chapter  on  the  Mongolian 
defective.  In  this  case  the  normal  parents  have  two  defective 
children  out  of  three.  These  parents  were  more  than  cousins^ 
as  will  be  seen  from  a  study  of  the  chart.  Since  there  was  defect 
in  the  family  it  may  very  well  have  been  so  doubled  up  that  it 
reappeared  in  these  children.  Of  all  the  cases  on  our  charts 
this  is  the  strongest  in  favor  of  the  influence  of  consanguinity, 
and  yet  it  is  not  conclusive. 


1  See  page  480,  under  Table  Vm. 


5  24  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

In  Case  237  the  maternal  grandparents  of  our  child  were  third 
cousins ;   this  is  so  distant  that  it  is  not  worth  discussing. 

Case  276:  the  parents  of  our  child  were  cousins;  Gertie's 
defectiveness  is  explained  by  an  injury,  so  it  is  not  necessary  to 
call  in  the  theory  of  consanguinity. 

In  Case  292  the  parents  were  second  cousins.  The  child 
Nathan  was  a  meningitic  case  which  satisfactorily  explains  his 
condition. 

Case  223  is  at  first  sight  a  strong  one ;  the  parents  were  normal 
but  cousins ;  two  children  are  defective.  The  father  was  hemi- 
plegic.  Unfortunately  we  are  without  proof  because  the  grand- 
parents are  undetermined.  They  may  have  been  feeble-minded, 
in  which  case  these  defective  children  would  be  accounted  for. 

These  cases  confirm  the  view  now  generally  held  by  physicians 
and  students  of  the  problem  that  there  is  nothing  in  consan- 
guinity per  se;  but_giyen  a  tainted  family  the  mating  of  two 
members  of  the  same  family  increases  the  liability  of  the  defect 
appearing.  It  may  be  very  well  maintained  that  since  very 
few  families  are  free  from  defect  of  one  form  or  another,  physical 
or  mental,  the  ban  against  cousin-marriage  is  on  the  whole 
wise.  The  evil  of  this  form  of  statement  however  is  twofold. 
First,  there  are  cases,  whether  they  be  many  or  few,  w^here  there 
is  no  taint  in  the  family  and  consequently  no  objection  what- 
ever to  the  marriage  of  cousins.  Second,  the  form  of  statement 
would  imply  that  there  is  no  objection  to  any  mating  where  they 
are  not  relatives.  This  is  the  greater  error  of  the  two,  for  it  is 
just  as  dangerous  for  a  person  of  tainted  familyto  mate  with  a 
person  of  another  tainted  family  as  it  would  be  to  mate  with  his 
own  cousin.  In  both  cases  we  are  increasing  the  liaJpiHty  that  the 
taint  will  reappear.  It  might  be  added  that  many  persons  are 
wont  to  argue  this  matter  from  an  analogy  of  animal  breeding. 
The  fallacy  of  attempting  to  use  such  analogy  is  evident  when 
we  consider  that  the  effect  of  consanguinity,  or  inbreeding  as  it 
is  called,  is  very  different  with  different  kinds  of  animals.     With 


TWINS  525 

some  species  inbreeding  is  the  rule,  and  produces  no  deleterious 
results.  If  we  are  going  to  reason  by  analogy  it  is  just  as  logical 
to  draw  our  analogy  from  this  species  of  animal  as  from  one  where 
inbreeding  does  lead  to  bad  results. 

TWINS 

Fifty-one  of  our  charts  record  the  birth  of  twins.  There  seems 
to  be  nothing  especially  worthy  of  discussion  in  connection  with 
this  matter  save  in  Cases  84,  134,  144,  185.     (See  also  157.) 

In  these  four  cases  we  ha ve_the^  interesting  condition  of  one 
of  the  twins  being  normal,  the  other  feeble-minded.  The  special 
interest  in  these  cases  comes  from  the  bearing  they  have  upon  a 
popular  idea  as  to  the  relation  between  the  similarity  of  twins 
and  their  mode  of  genesis.  There  is  a  theory  that  twins  who 
closely  resemble  each  other,  sometimes  called  ''identical  twins," 
come  from  a  single  fertilized  ovum  which  in  the  course  of 
development  divides  and  develops  into  the  two  individuals, 
whereas,  twins  that  do  not  closely  resemble  each  other  are  the 
result  of  two  fertilized  ova. 

Attractive  as  this  explanation  is  at  first  sight,  Thorndike  has 
shown  in  his  Monograph  on  "The  Measurement  of  Twins," 
that  while  the  development  of  twins  from  a  single  fertilized  ovum 
is  not  impossible,  yet  it  is  not  at  all  a  necessary  explanation, 
nor  is  it  a  very  probable  one.  His  study  would  seem  to  show 
that  twins  are  the  result  of  two  fertilized  ova,  with  the  possi- 
biHty  of  some  exceptions. 

It  is  unfortunate  that  our  data  are  incomplete  in  regard  to  the 
majority  of  our  cases,  nevertheless  the  four  where  the  data  are 
complete  are  all  in  agreement  and  constitute  another  strong 
argument  for  true  heredity.  On  any  theory  of  environment, 
pre-natal  or  post-natal,  it  would  be  difficult  to  account  for  cases 
of  twins  with  one  normal  and  the  other  defective.  On  the 
heredity  theory  however  the  case  is  simple.  Se^iar  as  heredity 
is  concerned,  the  fact  that  these  individuals  "were  of  different 


5  26  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

mentality  is  no  more  difficult  to  explain  if  they  were  born 
at  the  same  time  than  if  they  were  born  separately.  We 
have  two  ova,  fertilized  by  the  different  spermatozoa,  each 
of  them  subject  to  whatever  possibiKties  the  conditions  of  the 
chromosomes  warrant.  In  the  one  case  a  ''defective"  sperma- 
tozoon has  fertilized  a  "  defective "  ovum  with  the  resulting 
defective  offspring.  In  the  other  case,  a  normal  spermatozoon 
has  fertihzed  a  normal  ovum,  or  else  one  of  the  germ  cells  has 
been  normal  and  the  other  ''  defective,"  in  either  case  resulting 
in  a  normal  offspring. 

The  fact  that  from  the  time  of  fertilization  the  two  embryos 
have  the  same  environment  until  the  birth  of  the  children  con- 
stitutes what  must  be  considered  an  almost  ideal  test  of  the 
theory  of  heredity  and  environment.  If  we  add  to  this,  the 
argument  that  twins  usually  have  the  same  environment  thru 
childhood,  we  still  further  emphasize  the  point. 


NEUROTIC,  MIGRAINE,  ETC. 

The  remaining  conditions  have  not  proved  of  great  significance 
in  this  study.  They  are  therefore  passed  by  with  brief  mention. 
The  distribution  of  the  cases  will  be  found  in  Tables  XIX-XXI, 
pages  531.  532- 

Neurotic.  Seventy-one  individuals  have  been  marked  neu- 
rotic. Little  importance  is  attached  to  the  figures  in  this  case 
as  the  term  is  too  general  and  the  conditions  included  under  it 
are  too  varied  to  have  scientific  value  as  a  group. 

Migraine.  Migraine  or  periodic  sick  headache  is  a  disease  that 
indicates  a  disturbed  nervous  system  and  may  have  some  relation 
to  mental  defect. 

We  have  found  however  only  13  cases.  Here  again  it  must 
be  said  that  our  diagnoses  have  not  always  been  those  of  physi- 
cians and  consequently  we  are  not  Hkely  to  have  discovered  nearly 
all  of  the  cases.     The  greatest  number  of  them  (7  of  the  13)  occur 


IN  OTHER  INSTITUTIONS  527 

in  the  Neuropathic  Group  as  we  would  expect.  Th^i^re  4  in 
the  Hereditary  Group  and  2  in  the  Probably  Hereditary. 

Goitre.  We  have  found  among  our  families  8  cases  of  goitre ; 
6  o{Jhese  are  in  the  Hereditary  Group,  i  in  the  Neuropathic  and 
I  in  the  Unclassified  Group.  Altho  the  number  is  small  it  is  per- 
haps not  without  some  significance  that  6  out  of  the  8  cases  be- 
long in  the  Hereditary  Group. 

Wanderer.  The  classification  ''Wanderer"  is  also  one  thot 
to  be  significant  but  we  have  found  only  7  cases,  4  of  which  are 
in  the  Hereditary  Group. 

The  small  number  of  cases  under  these  last  four  headings 
would  give  us  the  impression  that  they  in  reality  have  Kttle  to 
do  with  feeble-mindedness.  And  when  we  note  further  the  large 
percentage  that  fall  in  the  group  of  hereditary  feeble-mindedness, 
it  is  only  logical  to  conclude  that  the  individuals  were  feeble- 
minded by  heredity  and  that  these  other  conditions  had  little  or 
nothing  to  do  with  it.  Whatever  may  be  ultimately  determined 
as  to  the  actual  part  that  any  of  these  conditions  plays  in  caus- 
ing feeble-mindedness,  it  is  at  least  clear  that  we  should  in  no 
case  rely  upon  any  one  of  these  supposed  causes,  without  looking 
further  and  deeper  into  the  family  and  individual  history  to  dis- 
cover if  there  be  a  more  fundamental  cause.  One  gets  the  im- 
pression from  these  cases  that  all  the  foregoing  conditions  are 
merely  symptoms  of  an  underlying  defect. 

IN  OTHER  INSTITUTIONS 

On  76  of  the  charts  there  are  149  persons  recorded  who  are 
inmates  of  other  Institutions  than  the  Training  School.  Be- 
sides institutions  for  the  feeble-minded  this  includes  jails,  ahns- 
houses,  insane  hospitals  and  reformatories.  Many  of  those  in 
the  jails  and  almshouses  are  there  either  because  their  condition 
has  not  been  recognized,  or  because  there  has  been  no  other  place 
for  them.  Of  these  149  individuals,  67  have  been  found  feeble- 
minded.    This  number  with  our  own  cases  makes  377,  or  19.6  % 


528 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


J 


of  all  the  feeble-minded  individuals  on  our  charts,  who  are  or 
have  been  in  Institutions,  and  maintained  very  largely  at  pubHc 
expense. 

Table  XVIII 

PERSONS    IN    INSTITUTIONS    OTHER    THAN    THE    TRAINING    SCHOOL    MOSTLY 
AT    PUBLIC    EXPENSE 

Seventy-six  Charts,  25.3  %  of  all  charts,  show  individuals  in  other  Insti- 
tutions than  the  Training  School.  There  are  149  persons  divided  as 
follows : 


Hereditary 

Probably  H. 

Neuropathic 

Accident 

No.  of  Charts 

59 

7 

8 

2 

Men 

Women 

Dir. 
40 
32 

Col. 
21 
26 

Dir. 

4 
4 

Col. 

3 

I 

Dir. 
5 

7 

Col. 

3 
I 

Dir. 

I 
I 

Col. 
0 
0 

Totals 

72 

47 

8 

4 

12 

4 

2 

0 

Of  6868  Persons  in  Hereditary  Group  119  or  1.73%  were  in  other  Insts. 
Of  II 1 5  Persons  in  Probably  H.  Group  12  or  1.07%  were  in  other  Insts. 
Of  1212  Persons  in  Neuropathic  Group  16  or  1.32%  were  in  other  Insts. 
Of  1913  Persons  in  Accident  Group  2  or  0.10%  were  in  other  Insts. 

Of    281  Persons  in  No  Cause  Group  o  were  in  other  Insts. 


Of  11,389  Persons  in  all  Groups 


[49  or  1.3 1  So  were  in  other  Insts. 


Mentality 

Hereditary 

Probably  H. 

Neuropathic 

Accident 

Feeble-minded    {^L^"^ 

\  Women 

Undetermined       ^-, 

Women 

29 

33 
32 
25 

3 
2 

4 
3 

0 
0 

8 
8 

0 
0 

I 

Totals 

119 

12 

16 

2 

Feeble-minded  67  ;  undetermined  82. 

Of   1918  Feeble-minded  Persons  on  the  300  charts  377  or  19.6%  were 
in  Institutions,  including  Vineland. 


SUMMARY  TABLES 


529 


In  the  three  following  tables  will  be  found  a  summary  of  the 
preceding  figures  arranged  for  easy  comparison. 

Table  XIX  relates  to  Charts.  It  shows  the  number  of  charts 
and  the  distribution  of  the  total  number  in  each  of  our  five  fun- 
damental groups.  It  shows  also  the  number  of  charts  in 
each  group  that  have  persons  marked  AlcohoKc,  Tuberculous, 
etc.,  and  the  percentage  these  are  of  all  the  charts  in  the  funda- 
mental groups,  e.g.  164  or  54.6  %  of  the  total  number  of  charts 
are  in  the  Hereditary  Group,  98  or  59.8  %  of  the  Hereditary  charts 
have  Alcohol  on  them,  42.6  %  have  Tuberculosis,  48.2  %  have 
Sx,  etc. 


Table  XIX 

SHOWING    NUMBER    OF    CH.IRTS    HAVING    ALCOHOL,    TUBERCULOSIS,    ETC. 
AND    THEIR    DISTRIBUTION    IN    THE    FUND.UIENTAL    GROLTS 


Funda- 
mental 

Total 
Charts 

% 

Alcoholic 

Tuberculous 

Sx 

Paralytic 

Insane 

Groups 

No. 

0/ 

70 

No. 

% 

No. 

% 

No. 

% 

No. 

% 

Total 
Hered. 
P.  H. 

Neu. 
Ace. 
N.  C. 

300 
164 

34 

37 

57 

8 

100 
54.6 

II-3 

12.3 

19.0 

2.6 

152 
98 

15 
18 
20 

I 

50.6 

59-8 
44.4 
48.6 
35-0 
12.5 

143 
70 
20 

17 
22 

2 

47.8 
42.6 
58.8 

45-9 
38.5 
25.0 

96 

79 

5 

8 

4 
0 

32.0 
48.2 
14.8 
21,6 
7.0 
0.0 

99 
37 
10 
29 
18 

5 

33-0 
22.6 
29.4 
78.3 
31-5 
62.5 

62 

33 
10 

15 
4 
0 

20.6 
20.1 
29.4 

40-5 
7.0 
0.0 

Epileptic 

Neurotics 

Sy 

Criminal- 
istic 

Deaf 

Total 

300 

TOO 

53 

17.6 

44 

14.6 

27 

9.0 

32 

10.6 

3S 

12.6 

Hered. 

164 

54.6 

33 

20.1 

15 

9.1 

17 

10.4 

27 

16.5 

17 

10.4 

P.  H. 

34 

II-3 

5 

14.8 

9 

26.4 

3 

8.9 

3 

8.9. 

5 

14.8 

Neu. 

37 

12.3 

9 

24-3 

12 

32.4 

4 

10.9 

2 

5-4 

10 

27.0 

Ace. 

57 

19.0 

5 

8.8 

8 

14.0 

2 

3-5 

0 

0.0 

6 

10.5 

N.  C. 

8 

2.6 

I 

12.5 

0 

0.0 

I 

12.5 

0 

0.0 

0 

0.0 

530 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


Table  XIX  —  Continued 

SHOWING   NO.    OF   CHARTS   HAVING   ALCOHOL,    TUBERCULOSIS,    ETC.    AND 
THEIR   DISTRIBUTION   IN   THE   FUNDAMENTAL   GROUPS 


Funda- 
mental 
Groups 

Total 
Charts 

% 

Blind 

Migraine 

Goitre 

Wanderers 

In  Other 
Institutions 

Total 

300 

100 

19 

6.3 

10 

^•3, 

6 

2.0 

6 

2.0 

76 

25-3 

Hered. 

164 

54.6 

13 

7-9 

4 

2.4 

2 

1.2 

3 

1.8 

59 

35-9 

P.  H. 

34 

II-3 

I 

2.9 

I 

2.9 

3 

8.8 

0 

0.0 

7 

20.6 

Neu. 

37 

12.3 

3 

8.1 

4 

10.8 

I 

2.7 

I 

2.7 

8 

21.6 

Ace. 

57 

19.0 

2 

3-5 

0 

0.0 

0 

0.0 

2 

3.5 

2 

3-5 

N.  C. 

8 

2.6 

0 

0.0 

0 

0.0 

0 

0.0 

0 

0.0 

0 

0.0 

Table  XX  relates  to  Persons.  It  shows  the  distribution 
of  all  persons  charted  in  the  five  fundamental  groups,  and  the 
distribution  of  those  who  are  Alcohohc,  Tuberculous,  etc. ; 
e.g.  60.3  %  of  all  persons  charted  are  on  charts  in  the  Heredi- 
tary Group ;  74.5  %  of  all  the  alcoholics  are  in  this  group, 
which  is  14.2  %  more  alcoholics  than  there  should  be  on  the 
basis  of  a  uniform  distribution.  In  like  manner  it  can  be  seen 
that  the  Hereditary  Group  has  2.6  %  too  few  Tuberculous, 
29.2  %  too  many  Sx's,  etc. 


SUMMARY  TABLES 


531 


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FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


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CHAPTER   VI 
MENDEI.^S'-tAW-eF   INHERITANCE 

Th3  classical  experiments  of  the  Austrian  monk,  Gregor 
Mendel,  are  becoming  familiar  to  all  who  follow,  with  even  a 
passing  interest,  the  development  of  modern  science. 

Mendel  was  struck  by  the  remarkable  colors  that  were  ob- 
tained by  cross  fertilization  in  plants.  He  found  upon  looking 
into  the  matter  that  no  one  had  carried  on  experiments  to  such 
an  extent  and  in  such  a  way  "  as  to  make  it  possible  to  determine 
the  number  of  different  forms  under  which  the  offspring  of  hy- 
brids appear,  or  to  arrange  these  forms  with  certainty  accord- 
ing to  their  separate  generations,  or  definitely  to  ascertain  their 
statistical  relations."  After  eight  years  experimenting  he  was 
able  to  present  his  results  and  formulate  a  law,  —  a  law  which 
has  done  more  to  energize  scientific  study  of  inheritance  and  to 
arouse  popular  interest  in  this  branch  of  science  than  anything 
that  has  ever  been  devised. 

It  is  a  veritable  Arabian  Nights  story  how  this  wizard  of  Brlinn 
planted  in  his  garden  two  kinds  of  peas,  one  of  which  was  tall 
and  the  other  dwarf ;  how  he  cut  out  the  stamens  and  trans- 
ferred the  pollen  from  one  variety  to  the  pistils  of  the  other ;  and 
how  when  his  plants  matured  he  gathered  the  fruit,  planted  it 
again,  only  to  find  that  all  of  these  plants  were  tall,  none  were 
dwarf ;  how  he  allowed  these  to  grow  by  themselves  and  be 
fertilized  naturally,  raising  the  fruit  and  planting  it  the  second 
year,  with  the  result  that  thruout  his  whole  garden  there  were 
three  tails  to  every  dwarf.  Three  to  one,  —  what  magic  !  Fijst 
generation  all  tall;    second  generation  tall  and  dwarf  in  the 

533 


534  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

ratio  of  three  to  one ;  always  three  to  one.  Precisely  the  same 
thing  happened  if  he  used,  instead  of  tall  and  dwarf  peas,  a  va- 
riety which  had  a  green  pod  and  another  a  yellow  pod  ;  or  whether 
he  chose  his  two  kinds  because  the  one  had  rounded  peas  and  the 
other  wrinkled. 

This  was  not  all ;  he  found  that  if  he  planted  the  peas  from  his 
dwarf  plants  he  got  all  dwarfs,  and  he  might  plant  them  year 
after  year,  they  were  always  dwarf,  never  tall.  With  the  tall 
peas  this  was  not  true.  The  tall  peas  all  looked  alike,  but  when 
planted,  one- third  of  them  always  produced  tall  peas,  no  matter 
how  many  years  they  were  replanted.  But  the  other  two-thirds 
always  yielded  tall  and  dwarf  in  the  ratio  of  three  to  one.  The 
same  three  to  one  ! 

Mendel  called  the  peculiarity  in  which  his  two  plants  differed 
the  ''unit  character";  for  example,  the  tallness  or  the  color  of 
the  seed.  He  called  the  character  which  appeared  in  the  first 
generation  as  the  result  of  his  cross  fertilization  the  dominant, 
the  one  that  did  not  appear  until  the  second  generation  he  called 
recessive  —  on  the  ground  that  it  was  there  in  the  first  genera- 
tion but  did  not  appear.  It  had  receded,  as  it  were,  into  the 
background,  only  to  reappear  in  the  next  generation. 

This  work  of  Mendel's  was  pubHshed  in  1866  and  was  then 
lost  for  thirty-four  years  and  re-discovered  in  1900. 

What  is  the  explanation  of  this  strange  mixture  of  mathematics 
and  biology,  this  three  to  one  ratio  in  the  growing  of  peas? 
In  Mendel's  day  there  was  no  explanation.  Biology  had  not 
caught  up  with  this  problem.  Mendel  died  before  biological 
science  had  reached  the  point  of  development  where  it  could 
explain  his  marvelous  discovery. 

The  Explanation.  While  some  details  are  still  obscure  we 
can  follow  the  general  plan.  Consider  the  spermatozoon  and 
ovum  in  animals.  It  was  found  that  if  these  "germ  cells"  pre- 
vious to  being  placed  under  the  microscope  were  put  in  some 
kind   of  stain,   certain    bodies   appeared  in  the   cells  because 


MENDEL'S  LAW  535 

they  had  absorbed  some  of  the  stain  or  coloring  matter. 
Nothing  was  known  of  the  function  or  the  purpose  of  these 
bodies,  but  because  they  became  colored  under  this  treatment 
they  were  called  color  bodies,  or  in  the  Greek,  chromosomes. 

It  was  found  that  there  was  practically  always  the  same 
number  of  these  bodies  in  the  germ  cells  of  the  same  species 
of  plant  or  animal.  They  were  thus  not  accidentally  colored 
bodies  but  bodies  of  some  significance.  Furthermore  it  was 
discovered  that  there  is  a  process  of  maturing  or  ripening  in 
these  cells  before  they  are  ready  to  unite  with  the  cell  of 
the  opposite  sex  for  the  formation  of  a  new  individual. 
In  this  ripening  the  number  of  these  chromosomes  is  reduced 
one-half.  This  process  is  too  complicated  to  be  described  here, 
but  the  student  should  refer  to  biology  and  master  this  point 
as  it  is  essential  to  an  understanding  of  the  mechanism  of  in- 
heritance. (See  Bibliography,  E.  B.  Wilson ;  also  Davenport, 
Heredity  in  Relation  to  Eugenics,  p.  15.) 

It  is  thus  seen  that  in  the  new  indi\ddual  formed  by  the  union 
of  these  two  mature  cells  there  will  be  the  regular  number  of 
chromosomes,  half  of  which  have  come  from  each  parent.  It 
was  soon  concluded  that  these  chromosomes  were  to  be  con- 
sidered the  bearers  of  heredity.  It  is  now  doubtful  whether  they 
are  the  sole  bearers,  but  for  the  present  purpose  of  making  clear 
our  problem  we  shall  consider  only  the  chromosomes. 

We  are  now  getting  at  the  mechanism  of  the  transmission  of 
traits  from  parents  to  children.  The  offspring  may  inherit  the 
same  trait  from  both  father  and  mother  or  he  may  inherit  from 
one  alone.  In  the  latter  case  only  half  of  his  chromosomes  carry 
the  trait,  while  in  the  former  all  of  them  carry  it. 

For  reasons  which  we  cannot  explain  here  the  biologist  con- 
ceives that  each  chromosome  has  within  it  what  are  called  deter- 
miners, that  is,  certain  particles,  molecules  or  elements  which 
contain  within  themselves  the  potential  organ  which  they  rep- 
resent, or  some  quality  or  characteristic  of    the  organ  such   as 


536  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

the  color  of  the  eye  or  of  the  hair.  If  the  individual  has  brown 
eyes  it  is  because  his  chromosomes  carried  determiners  for  brown 
eyes.  If  he  has  long  arms  it  is  because  his  chromosomes,  some 
of  them  at  least,  carried  determiners  for  long  arm  bones. 

If  we  stop  here  we  should  conclude  that  we  inherit  half  from 
our  fathers  and  half  from  our  mothers  ;  but  there  is  a  further  step. 
It  would  be  equally  true  that  our  father  inherited  his  twenty- 
four  chromosomes  twelve  from  his  father  and  twelve  from  his 
mother.  But  we  must  not  forget  that  each  germ  cell  in  maturing 
divides  into  two,  each  part  carrying  twelve  germ  cells.  The  ques- 
tion now  is  —  how  does  it  divide  ?  Do  twelve  father  cells  and 
twelve  mother  cells  go  into  each  of  the  respective  parts,  or  is  it 
eleven  father  one  mother,  or  ten  father  and  two  mother,  or  any 
of  the  other  possible  combinations  ?  So  far  as  we  now  know  this 
division  is  purely  accidental,  and  as  likely  to  be  one  combination 
as  another.  We  thus  see  that  while  A  inherited  twelve  chromo- 
somes from  his  father,  these  in  turn  came  from  the  grandparents 
and  because  of  the  division,  A  may  have  ten  chromosomes  from 
his  paternal  grandfather  and  two  from  his  paternal  grandmother, 
or  any  other  combination. 

So  far  as  those  traits  are  concerned,  which  an  individual  has 
inherited  from  both  parents,  it  of  course  makes  no  difference  how 
the  division  takes  place.  Every  mature  germ  cell  will  carry  that 
trait,  but  if  a  trait  has  been  inherited  from  only  one  parent,  of 
course  it  is  a  vital  matter  whether  a  germ  cell  containing  that 
trait  or  one  that  does  not  contain  it  unites  with  the  germ  cell  of 
the  opposite  sex.  Suppose,  for  example,  that  Mendel  plants  noth- 
ing but  tall  peas,  then  no  matter  how  the  chromosomes  divide 
every  chromosome  will  contain  the  determiner  for  tallness.  On 
the  other  hand,  what  Mendel  actually  did  was  to  place  the  pollen 
of  a  tall  pea  on  the  pistil  of  the  dwarf  pea  (or  vice  versa).  These 
two  cells  then  unite  and  a  new  germ  cell  is  formed.  This  germ 
cell  carries  only  one  determiner  for  tallness  —  not  two.  When 
those  germ  cells  divide,  half  of  the  resulting  mature  cells  will 


MENDEL'S  LAW  537 

carry  the  determiner  for  tallness  and  half  will  lack  it.  Now  sup- 
pose a  pistillate  plant  of  this  character,  only  half  of  whose  ovules 
carry  chromosomes  with  determiners  for  tallness,  is  fertilized  by 
pollen  grains  from  a  plant  only  half  of  whose  chromosomes 
carry  the  determiners  for  tallness.  There  are  four  possibilities. 
A  pollen  grain  with  a  determiner  for  tallness  may  unite  with  an 
ovule  having  a  determiner  for  tallness ;  the  resulting  plant  will 
have  two  determiners  for  tallness  or  will  be  what  we  call  duplex. 
Second,  a  pollen  grain  with  a  determiner  for  tallness  may  unite 
with  an  ovule  without  the  determiner  for  tallness ;  the  resulting 
plant  will  have  only  one  determiner  for  tallness.  It  will  be  tall 
but  simplex.  Third,  a  pollen  grain  without  the  determiner  for 
tallness  may  unite  w^ith  an  ovule  with  a  determiner  for  tallness ; 
there  will  therefore,  be  only  one  determiner  in  the  resulting  plant 
but  the  plant  will  be  tall  and  simplex.  Fourth,  a  pollen  grain 
without  the  determiner  for  tallness  may  unite  with  an  ovule 
without  the  determiner  for  tallness  ;  the  resulting  plant  will  have 
no  determiner  for  tallness  and  will  therefore  be  a  dwarf.  Thus 
we  have  the  explanation  of  what  Mendel  found. 

His  dwarf  peas  that  always  produced  dwarfs,  that  is,  "bred 
true,"  had  no  determiners  for  tallness.  The  others  always  had 
at  least  one  determiner  for  tallness  and  therefore  were  all  tall, 
but  one- third  of  these  had  two  determiners  and  therefore,  when 
combined  with  others  of  the  same  kind,  must  always  produce  tall 
peas  with  two  determiners ;  while  two-thirds  of  the  tall  peas  had 
only  one  determiner  for  tallness  so  when  they  combined  they 
repeated  the  story  that  we  have  just  told  —  of  three  to  one. 

Any  individual  plant  or  animal  that  has  inherited  a  trait  from 
both  parents  is  said  to  be  duplex  in  respect  to  that  trait,  whereas 
if  it  has  inherited  it  from  only  one  side  it  is  simplex;  and  if  the 
trait  is  entirely  absent  it  is  nulliplcx. 

We  are  now  ready  for  the  application  of  Mendel's  law  to  our 
problem.  The  law  has  already  been  proved  to  apply  to  many 
human  traits;    for  example,  color  of  hair,  color  of  eyes,  color- 


538  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

blindness,  night-blindness,  haemophilia,  brachydactylism.  It 
also  seems  probable  that  it  applies  to  the  inheritance  of  certain 
insanities  and  some  of  the  epilepsies,  as  has  been  worked  out  by 
Rosanoff  for  the  insanities,  and  Davenport  and  Weeks  for 
epilepsy. 

Does  it  apply  to  feeble-mindedness  ? 


CHAPTER   Vn 
IS   FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS   A   UNIT   CHARACTER? 

In  attempting  to  apply  the  Mendelian  formula  to  the  inherit- 
ance of  feeble-mindedness  our  first  question  would  be  :  is  feeble- 
mindedness a  unit  character,  and  if  so,  is  it  dominant  or  is  it 
recessive,  due  to  the  presence  of  a  determiner  that  arrests  devel- 
opment or  to  the  absence  of  a  determiner  that  makes  for  nor- 
mahty  ? 

That  feeble-mindedness  is  hereditary  is  abundantly  demon- 
strated from  the  case  histories  presented.  Feeble-mindedness  is 
most  naturally  considered  as  a  lack  of  intelligence ;  from  this 
standpoint  we  would  expect  that  intelhgence  is  dominant,  but 
it  is  hard  for  psychologists  to  think  of  intelligence  as  a  unit. 
Intelligence  results  from  numerous  but  undetermined  factors. 
One  may  be  intelligent  along  some  lines  and  unintelligent  along 
others,  and  it  matters  not  how  much  we  divide  the  mind  up, 
so  to  speak,  we  may  say  from  one  standpoint  that  we  never 
reach  the  unit.  The  will,  which  is  popularly  spoken  of  as  tho 
it  were  an  entity  in  itself,  is  for  the  psychologist  simply  the 
sum  of  various  processes,  with  the  result  that  a  person  may  have 
strong  will-power  along  some  lines  and  very  weak  along  others. 
The  same  is  true  of  the  judgment,  which  is  so  markedly  deficient 
in  the  feeble-minded. 

At  this  point,  one  asks  again  —  is  judgment  or  will-power 
inherited?  No  more  than  tuberculosis  or  blacksmithing  or 
soldiering.  What  is  inherited  is  a  constitution  that  is  particularly 
Uable  to  be  attacked  by  tubercular  bacilli,  a  good  skeleton  and 
musculature  which  make  a  man  capable  of   swinging  a   large 

539 


540 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


hammer  and  working  in  iron,  or  lastly  a  physique  that  meets 
the  requirements  of  a  soldier;  in  other  words  the  capacity  for 
any  one  of  these.  In  the  same  way  we  must  look  not  for  judg- 
ment and  will-power,  but  for  the  capacity  for  the  development 
of  judgment  and  will-power.  These  he,  in  the  last  analysis,  in 
the  brain  and  the  brain  cells. 

To  take  the  simplest  possible  illustration ;  in  order  to  have 
will-power  one  must  have  good  sense  organs  for  receiving  im- 
pressions, for  example  sight  and  hearing,  with  good  communica- 
tion between  their  corresponding  brain  areas.  The  physical  basis 
for  this  communication  is  supposed  to  be  along  what  is  called 
association  fibers. 

Let  us  for  the  sake  of  clearness  attempt  to  work  out  a  possible 
hypothesis,  making  such  assumptions  as  are  not  forbidden  by  any 
known  facts.  In  accordance  with  present  day  views  of  heredi- 
tary transmission  of  characters,  we  naturally  assume  that  there 
is  a  vast  number  of  determiners  in  the*  human  chromosome. 
There  must,  for  example,  be  a  determiner  for  the  size  of  every 
particular  organ,  tissue  and  structure,  to  what  fineness  or  par- 
ticularity no  one  can  of  course  guess ;  but  everything  that  is 
handed  down  from  father  to  son  must  be  handed  down  by  means 
of  a  determiner  in  the  chromosome.  How  minute  those  char- 
acters are  can  be  appreciated  by  recalHng  what  is  already  known. 
Pigmentation  has  been  thoroly  studied  so  that  the  color  of  the 
hair  and  of  the  eyes  is  known  not  only  to  be  transmitted  defi- 
nitely but  strictly  in  accordance  with  the  MendeHan  law.  Un- 
doubtedly the  size  of  the  hair  or  its  fineness,  possibly  its  length 
are  also  determined.  Carrying  this  thot  over  into  the  brain,  we 
have  every  right  to  believe  that  there  is  a  determiner  for  perhaps 
thousands  of  different  groups  of  brain  cells ;  further,  for  the  size 
of  the  cell  body,  the  size  of  the  neurite  and  dendrite,  also  for  the 
chemical  composition  of  the  cell  body,  of  the  neurite  and  den- 
drite and  for  the  medullary  sheath. 

Let  us  now  consider  some  well-known  facts.     Here  is  a  person 


A  POSSIBLE  HYPOTHESIS  541 

who  can  see  a  piano  perfectly  well.  He  recognizes  it,  knows  what 
it  is,  can  repeat  the  word  piano,  appreciates  the  music  of  the 
piano,  knows  what  is  meant  when  he  hears  the  word  piano,  all 
of  which  facts  show  that  both  his  eyes  and  his  ears,  and  his 
motor  speech  centers,  are  intact  and  normal.  But  if  you  take 
him  into  a  room  and  he  sees  the  piano,  while  he  recognizes  it  and 
knows  what  it  is,  he  is  unable  to  say  the  word  piano. 

In  such  cases  we  say  the  man  is  suffering  from  a  disease  which 
we  call  aphasia  which  we  explain  by  saying  that  there  is  a  break 
in  the  association  fibers  that  connect  the  sight  center  with  the 
motor  speech  center  or  with  the  auditory  center.  This  actually 
happens  in  life,  and  as  we  have  said,  is  a  disease. 

For  the  sake  of  our  illustration  assume  that  this  is  hereditary, 
and  that  this  individual  lacks  the  association  fibers  between  sight 
and  motor  speech  centers,  not  because  they  have  been  diseased 
and  broken  up  but  because  they  never  developed,  because  the 
determiner  for  the  proper  development  of  those  cells  was  lacking 
from  this  man's  chromosomes. 

Now  suppose  a  child  with  this  inheritance  comes  before  us; 
what  kind  of  pecuHar  mentality  will  he  exhibit  ?  It  will  of  course 
be  the  inabihty  to  associate  things  seen,  with  sounds,  with  names, 
or  with  the  abihty  to  pronounce  the  names.  If  it  is  the  latter, 
the  condition  is  quickly  discovered  and  we  call  it  aphasia.  But 
suppose  it  is  the  former,  that  is  to  say,  the  association  between 
the  visual  image  and  the  auditory  image.  I  desire  to  send  this 
boy  on  an  errand,  I  say  to  him  —  ''You  know  what  a  piano  is  ? " 
"Yes."  The  child  hears  and  understands  what  I  say  because 
his  auditory  center  is  intact.  My  words  sound  to  him  sensible 
and  reasonable.  But  he  had  no  visual  image  of  a  piano,  conse- 
quently when  I  say  ''Show  me  the  piano  in  this  room,"  he  does 
not  understand,  not  because  he  does  not  see  the  piano,  but  be- 
cause he  does  not  associate  what  he  sees  with  the  spoken  word, 
piano.  I  therefore  say  the  boy  is  stupid.  After  repeated  ex- 
periences of  this  kind  I  conclude  that  he  is  feeble-minded,  and 


542 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


such  a  child  undoubtedly  would  be  feeble-minded  but  of  a  pe- 
cuHar  type. 

In  similar  manner,  let  us  suppose  there  is  a  girl  whose  associa- 
tion fibers  between  the  auditory  center  and  the  motor  centers 
are  not  developed,  so  that  the  child  hears  what  is  said,  under- 
stands perfectly  well,  but  has  no  power  of  innervating  the  motor 
muscles  and  acting  upon  what  is  said.  This  is  the  child  that 
does  not  act,  or  does  not  do  what  she  is  told.  We  cannot  induce 
her  to  obey  a  command.  Such  a  child  is  feeble-minded  but 
again  of  a  peculiar  type.  Now  let  us  assume  that  in  both  of  these 
cases  these  conditions  are  recessive,  due  to  the  absence  of  the 
determiner  for  normal  association  fibers  in  these  two  fields.  We 
know  from  our  study  of  the  Mendelian  law  that  if  a  person  hav- 
ing either  one  of  the  above  mentioned  defects  marries  a  normal 
person,  in  the  first  generation  all  the  children  will  be  normal 
but  simplex,  half  their  chromosomes  will  lack  the  determiner  for 
normaHty  along  this  line.  If  one  of  the  second  generation  marries 
a  person  of  Kke  inheritance,  the  offspring  will  be  in  the  ratio  of 
3  normal  (i  duplex,  2  simplex)  to  i  defective. 

Now  suppose  a  person  having  both  these  defects  —  i.e.  he  lacks 
the  visual  auditory  and  the  auditory  motor  fibers  —  marries; 
if  he  marries  a  normal  person,  in  the  first  generation  of  course  all 
will  be  normal,  but  now  let  us  take  the  second  generation  mating. 
A  person  who  has  inherited  normal  association  fibers  in  each  of 
these  fines  from  only  one  parent  marries  a  person  of  like  inherit- 
ance, what  will  be  the  result?  Let  us  represent  the  presence  of 
the  association  fibers  in  the  first  instance  by  X  and  the  absence 
by  Y ;  in  the  second  assumed  case  the  presence  will  be  indicated 
by  A  and  the  absence  by  B.  Now  we  want  to  know  the  result 
if  a  person,  only  half  of  whose  chromosomes  carry  determiners 
for  sight-hearing  association  marries  a  person  of  the  same  con- 
dition, and  at  the  same  time  each  of  these  individuals  has  only 
half  his  chromosomes  carrying  determiners  for  the  hearing- 
action  association  fibers.     That  is  to  say,  each  person  is  simplex 


TWO  UNIT   CHARACTERS  543 

in  each  of  these  unit  characters.  Taking  each  one  separately 
we  have  a  person  who  is  represented  by  XY  marrying  a  person 
whose  condition  is  also  shown  by  XY ;  the  result  of  this  is,  of 
course,  our  famiHar  formula  :  XX  +  2  XY  +  YY ;  in  a  similar 
manner  for  the  second  condition  the  individuals  are  AB  and  AB 
with  a  result  that  we  have  AA  +  2  AB  +  BB.  Now  all  of  the 
possibilities  are  enumerated  when  we  combine  each  of  the  first 
terms  with  each  one  of  the  second.  The  following  are  the  terms 
that  we  get : 

AAXX  +  2  AAXY  +  AAYY  +  2  ABXX  +  4  ABXY 
+  2  ABYY  +  BBXX  +  2  BBXY  +  BBYY 

Now  let  us  see  what  we  have.  Remembering  that  wherever 
there  are  two  A's  or  two  X's  we  have  that  character  duplex. 
Two  Y's  or  two  B's  mean  a  complete  absence  of  the  character. 
While  an  A  or  an  X  means  that  the  character  is  present  but 
with  only  one  determiner  instead  of  two.  In  other  words, 
taking  our  results  as  they  stand,  AAXX  means  a  thoroly  nor- 
mal individual.  Next  there  will  be  two  people  AAXY,  that 
is,  with  the  A  character  present  and  duplex  and  the  X  charac- 
ter simplex.  Next,  an  AAYY  gives  us  the  A  character  pres- 
ent, and  the  X  character  absent  entirely.  Next  we  have  two 
individuals  with  the  XX  that  is  duplex,  and  AB  simplex,  in 
that  character.  Then  we  have  four  individuals  that  are  sim- 
plex for  each  character.  Then  two  that  are  simplex  for  the 
A  character  and  nulliplex  for  the  X  character.  Next  comes 
one  that  is  nulliplex  for  the  A  and  duplex  for  the  X ;  then  two 
that  are  simplex  for  X  and  nulliplex  A,  and  lastly,  a  BBYY 
which  means  an  individual  entirely  lacking  in  both  qualities. 

We  thus  have  nine  different  kinds  of  individuals  resulting. 
One  of  those  kinds  is  represented  by  four  individuals,  four 
others  by  two  each,  and  each  of  the  others  by  one  person. 
If  now  we  collect  all  those  that  to  the  outward  appearance  will 
be  the  same,  we  have  the  following : 


544 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


First,  there  are  nine  individuals  all  possessing  both  A  and  X, 
therefore  manifesting  the  presence  of  both  characters.  Only 
one  is  duplex  in  both ;  in  the  others  either  A  or  X  is  simplex. 

Next,  we  have  three  individuals  in  whom  the  X  character 
is  entirely  lacking  but  the  A  character  present.  In  one  it  is 
present  as  a  duplex,  in  the  other  two  as  a  simplex  —  the  AAYY 
and  the  2  ABYY. 

In  the  next  group  are  three  individuals  in  whom  the  A  charac- 
ter is  lacking  entirely,  but  the  X  character  is  either  duplex  or 
simplex ;    these  are  the  BBXX  and  2  BBXY. 

Lastly,  one  individual  represented  by  BBYY  is  lacking  in 
both  A  and  X.     In  tabular  form  this  gives : 


Normal 

Defective  in  the  X 
Trait 

Defecttve  in  the  a         Defective  in 
Tr.\it                I      Both  Traits 

1  AAXX      duplex 

2  AAXY      simplex  X 
2     ABXX      simplex  A 

4     ABXY       simplex 

2     ABYY  (l) 

I    AAYY  (2) 

(i)  simplex  A 
nuUiplex  X 

(2)  duplex  A 
nuUiplex  X 

2    BBXY  (i) 
I    BBXX  (2) 

(i)  nuUiplex  A 
simplex  X 

(2)  nuUiplex  A 
duplex  X 

I    BBYY 

nuUiplex  both 

9 

3 

3 

Here  we  see  we  have  three  different  kinds  of  feeble-minded 
people  so  far  as  their  outward  appearance  is  concerned.  All  those 
in  any  one  group  are  alike  having  or  lacking  the  same  characters. 

To  sum  up  :  if  two  people  marry  under  the  conditions  that 
we  have  assumed  and  16  children  are  born,  there  would  be  g 
normal  children;  there  would  be  j  that  lacked  the  X  character^  3 
that  lacked  the  A  character,  and  i  that  lacked  both.  In  other 
words  there  would  be  one  group  of  normals  and  three  groups  of 
feeble-minded,  showing  three  different  grades  or  kinds  of  feeble- 
mindedness. When  it  came  to  the  eugenics  question  and  the 
marrying  of  these  people  there  is  only  one  out  of  the  sixteen 
that  is  absolutely  normal,  the  others  are  all  defective  in  their 


THE  NEGATIVE  ARGUMENT  545 

germ  plasms  and  are  capable  of  transmitting  defect  if  they  mate 
with  persons  Hke  themselves. 

But  the  point  that  we  are  emphasizing  here  is  that  if  two 
people  marry,  each  of  whom  has  only  half  the  chromosomes  carry- 
ing the  determiners  for  two  mental  traits,  the  result  would  be 
that  out  of  16  children  9  would  be  normal,  altho  8  of  them 
capable  of  transmitting  the  defect,  and  the  other  7  would 
show  three  different  kinds  of  feeble-mindedness. 

If  there  are  three  characters  instead  of  two  in  which  the  mating 
parties  are  each  simplex,  the  result  would  be  that  out  of  64  off- 
spring 27  would  he  normal,  altho  only  i  of  these  would  be  a  duplex 
normal,  all  the  others  being  capable  of  transmitting  one  or  two 
of  the  defects,  the  remaining  j/  would  represent  7  different  kinds 
of  defectives. 

If  there  were  four  determiners  involved,  the  numbers  would 
run  up  into  the  thousands. 

By  way  of  clarifying  this  somewhat  difficult  situation  we 
quote  an  identical  case  from  Castle  (W.  E.  Castle  —  Heredity, 
Appletons,  191 1)  to  whom  the  reader  is  referred  for  a  further 
explanation  of  this  point. 

"In  each  of  the  cases  thus  far  considered  a  single  unit-character  is  con- 
cerned. Crosses  in  such  cases  involve  no  necessary  change  in  the  race,  but 
only  the  continuance  within  it  of  two  sharply  alternative  conditions.  But 
the  result  is  quite  different  when  parents  are  crossed  which  differ  simul- 
taneously in  two  or  more  independent  unit-characters.  Crossing  them 
becomes  an  active  agency  for  the  production  of  new  varieties. 

"  In  discussing  the  crosses  now  to  be  described  it  will  be  convenient  to  refer 
to  the  various  generations  in  more  precise  terms,  as  Bateson  has  done.  The 
generation  of  the  animals  originally  crossed  will  be  called  the  parental  gen- 
eration (P) ;  the  subsequent  generations  will  be  called  filial  generations,  viz., 
the  first  filial  generation  (Fi),  second  filial  (F2),  and  so  on. 

"  When  guinea-pigs  are  crossed  of  pure  races  which  differ  simultaneously 
in  two  unit-characters,  the  Fi  offspring  are  all  alike,  but  the  Fo  offspring  are 
of  four  sorts.  Thus,  when  a  smooth  dark  animal  is  crossed  with  a  rough 
white  one  the  Fj  offspring  are  all  rough  and  dark,  manifesting  the  two  dom- 
inant unit-characters,  —  dark  coat  derived  from  one  parent,  rough  coat 

2  N 


546  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

derived  from  the  other.  But  the  F2  offspring  are  of  four  sorts,  viz. ;  (i) 
smooth  and  dark,  like  one  grandparent,  (2)  rough  and  white,  like  the  other 
grandparent,  (3)  rough  and  dark,  like  the  Fi  generation,  and  (4)  smooth  and 
white,  a  new  variety.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  pigmentation  of  the  coat  has 
no  relation  to  its  smoothness.  The  dark  animals  are  either  rough  or  smooth, 
and  so  are  the  white  ones.  Pigmentation  of  the  coat  is  evidently  a  unit- 
character  independent  of  hair-direction,  and  as  new  combinations  of  these 
two  units  the  cross  has  produced  two  new  varieties,  —  the  rough  dark  and 
the  smooth  white. 

"  Again,  hair-length  is  a  unit-character  independent  of  hair-color.  For  if  a 
short-haired  dark  animal  be  crossed  with  a  long-haired  albino,  the  Fi  off- 
spring are  all  short-haired  and  dark ;  but  the  F2  offspring  are  of  four  sorts, 
viz.  (i)  dark  and  short-haired,  like  one  grandparent,  (2)  white  and  long- 
haired, like  the  other,  (3)  dark  and  long-haired,  a  new  combination,  and 
(4)  white  and  short-haired,  a  second  new  combination. 

"  Now  the  four  sorts  of  individuals  obtained  from  such  a  cross  as  this  will 
not  be  equally  numerous. 

' '  The  expected  proportions  of  the  four  classes  of  F2  offspring  are  accordingly 
9:3:3:  I,  a  proportion  which  is  closely  approximated  in  actual  experience. 
The  Mendelian  theory  of  independent  unit-characters  accounts  for  this 
result  fully.  No  other  hypothesis  has  as  yet  been  suggested  which  can  ac- 
count for  it."    Page  jp. 

The  Other  Side 

From  the  point  of  view  of  feeble-mindedness  the  case  looks 
different.  Feeble-mindedness  is  clearly  an  arrest  of  development 
at  some  time  previous  to  adolescence  —  a  stopping  of  mental 
development  along  all  lines.  This  arrest  is  not  necessarily 
sudden.     There  is  usually  a  slowing  down  covering  several  years. 

This  is  somewhat  difficult  to  explain  along  the  lines  of  the 
previous  argument.  It  is  not  at  all  as  tho  the  determiner  for 
the  development  of  some  little  group  of  cells  had  been  left  out, 
or  as  tho  something  intervened  to  prevent  the  development  of 
some  other  group  of  cells,  which  would  result  in  one  mental  pro- 
cess being  stopped  while  the  others  went  on.  Whatever  has  hap- 
pened seems  to  have  affected  all  the  mental  processes  alike. 
That  is,  all  that  had  not  developed  at  the  time  the  arrest  took 
place,  failed  to  develop  afterwards. 


A  UNIT  CHARACTER  547 

The  fact  would  seem  to  be  accounted  for  either  by  the  presence 
of  some  determiner  which  showed  itself  at  the  proper  time  and 
stopped  the  further  development  of  the  brain,  or  by  the  absence 
of  something  which  furthers  development  and  which  is  normally 
present.  From  one  aspect  it  seems  that  the  condition  is  more  as 
tho  some  poison,  for  instance,  had  suddenly  been  injected  into 
the  system  which  stopped  the  development  of  the  brain  uni- 
formly thruout.  This  comes  from  the  fact  that  studies  of  the 
mentality  of  these  children,  at  least  so  far  as  such  studies  have 
gone,  seem  to  indicate  that  a  child  that  is  arrested  mentally, 
say  at  nine  years  of  age,  is  Hke  a  normal  child  of  nine  in 
everything  except  physical  growth  which  does  not  seem  to  be 
affected,  at  least  in  the  high  grades.^  From  this  standpoint 
therefore  it  seems  more  in  accordance  with  the  facts  to  conceive 
that  feeble-mindedness  is  a  iinit^Qharacter,^aTi^jdAJie^ehher  to  the 
presence  of  something  which  acts  as  an  inhibitor,  or  due  to  the 
absence  of  some  stimulus  which  sends  the  normal  brain  on  to 
further  development.  Of  these  two  we  may  further  suggest 
that  the  absence  of  a  determiner  that  would  make  for  normahty 
is  biologically  and  phylogenetically  the  more  easy  to  conceive. 
If  this  is  true  we  might  expect  to  find  normal  intelligence  not 
only  a  unit  character  but  dominant. 

Which  of  these  views  the  better  fits  our  facts  we  shall  con- 
sider in  the  next  chapter. 

1  It  is  not  strictly  correct  to  say  that  a  defective  of  mentality  g  (e.g.)  is  like  a 
normal  child  of  9  years.     For  discussion  see  page  579. 


CHAPTER   VIII 

IS   THE  INHERITANCE  OF  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS  IN 
ACCORDANCE  WITH  THE  MENDELIAN  LAW? 

In  attempting  to  answer  this  question  it  will  be  best  to  de- 
termine what  that  law  would  lead  us  to  expect,  then  to  examine 
the  data  of  the  Hereditary  Group  to  see  how  that  expectation  is 
fulfilled.  The  accompanying  diagram,  for  which  I  am  indebted 
to  Mr.  S.  C.  Kohs,  shows  graphically  all  of  the  possible  condi- 
tions. 

In  applying  the  Mendelian  law  to  human  heredity  we  meet  a 
difficulty,  which  arises  from  the  comparatively  small  number  of 
human  offspring  in  a  family.  When  we  say  the  mating  of  two 
simplexes  gives  i  duplex,  2  simplex  and  i  nulliplex,  we  can  only 
mean  that  this  proportion  will  be  met  if  there  are  enough  off- 
spring to  give  the  law  a  chance  to  show  itself.  But  our  simplex 
man  and  woman  may  have  only  two  children ;  even  if  there  are 
four  they  may  be  all  simplex,  w^hile  if  there  were  four  more  they 
might  be  two  duplex  and  two  nulliplex,  thus  carrying  out  the  law. 

To  overcome  this  difficulty  it  has  been  proposed  to  add  to- 
gether all  the  offspring  of  similar  matings.  A  hundred  children 
from  twenty  matings  are  as  good  as  tho  they  were  from  a  single 
mating,  provided  the  twenty  matings  are  similar,  i.e.  all  are  cases 
where  one  parent  is  simplex  and  the  other  nulliplex,  etc. 

Mendel  himself  used  this  method  ;  e.g.  from  253  hybrids  (mat- 
ings) he  gets  7324  seeds;  5474  were  roundish,  1850  were  angular 
wrinkled.     ''Therefrom  the  ratio  2.96  to  i  is  deduced." 

Out  of  1345  matings  in  the  Hereditary  Group  we  have  been 
able  to  find  324  matings  that  could  be  used  in  this  connection. 

548 


MENDELIAN  INHERITANCE 


549 


1 


THE 
MENDELIAN   THEORY 


<N) 


[n]      [n]     [n]      [n] 


ALL 
NORMAL 


^  iTST^ 


ALL 
DEFECTIVE 


<N) 


\ji  ^  \k   ^ 


ALL 
SIMPLEX 


m 


^  \k  di  ^  i^ 


2 : 2 


H — r— ® 


[S~~S~b16i 


1:2:1 


m — [— ® 


\n\   SiS  ^ 


2  : 2 


Diagram  showing  the  six  possible  matings  of  parents  duplex,  simplex, 
and  nulliplex,  —  with  the  possible  offspring :  on  the  assumption  that  nor- 
mal intelligence  is  a  unit  character  and  dominant. 


550  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

When  both  parents  are  duplex  all  of  the  children  must  be  nor- 
mal. Of  course,  we  have  nothing  to  do  with  this  type  of  mating 
in  a  defective  family. 

In  the  second  case,  if  both  parents  are  nulliplex  all  of  the 
children  are  feeble-minded.  Reference  to  Table  IV,  page  469, 
shows  that  this  is  probably  absolutely  true  in  our  data.  Of  482 
children  of  parents  both  of  whom  were  feeble-minded  all  were 
feeble-minded  with  the  exception  of  six.  The  exceptions  are  so 
few  as  to  be  hardly  worth  consideration.  It  is  very  probable 
moreover,  that  some  of  these  are  to  be  explained.  There  is  a 
possibility  of  error  of  judgment.  These  six  may  not  be  as  normal 
as  they  appear.  Further  experience  with  them  might  show  that 
they  are  below  the  level.  Neither  can  we  deny  that  there  is  a 
possibility  that  we  have  erred  in  regard  to  the  parents  in  some  of 
these  cases,  altho  we  cannot  think  that  this  is  at  all  a  likely  ex- 
planation since  we  have  been  careful  not  to  mark  any  one  feeble- 
minded unless  there  was  strong  objective  evidence. 

There  is  another  explanation,  however,  which  may  explain  all 
of  these  apparent  exceptions.  One  cannot  always  be  sure  of  the 
chastity  of  these  feeble-minded  women.  In  at  least  one  case 
this  has  been  proved  to  be  the  explanation.  Our  first  report  was 
that  there  were  in  a  family  two  normal  children  out  of  four. 
A  careful  investigation  disclosed  the  fact  that  there  was  another 
father  for  these  children  ;  he  was  a  normal  man  which  accounted 
for  the  difference. 

The  following  chart  taken  from  a  pamphlet  on  Segregation  of 
Mental  Defectives,  by  Dr.  Emerick  of  the  Columbus  (Ohio)  Insti- 
tution, is  a  case  in  point.  It  required  no  special  investigation. 
In  a  white  family  the  father  and  mother  are  both  feeble-minded, 
they     have     twelve  mm 

children,  all  feeble- 
minded     but     two. 


These  are  normal  but   JL.  mL  J^  ^  J^  J^  n^  r^  .L  J».  X^ 

i»^  COLORED  COLORED  ^^   mS^   JSm 


they  are  colored. 


TYPES  OF  MATINGS  551 

The  entire  group  of  matings  of  two  feeble-minded  people  goes 
to  prove  the  recessive  character  of  feeble-mindedness.  For  if 
this  trait  were  dominant  we  would  surely  get,  among  the  144 
matings,  some  matings  where  both  were  simplex  and  these 
would  sometimes  give  NN  (duplex  normal)  offspring.  We 
have  just  seen  how  rarely  (if  ever)  this  happens. 

Taking  up  the  other  types  of  matings  our  method  has  been  to 
assume  the  law,  then  see  if  the  conditions  as  we  find  them  can  be 
accounted  for  on  this  assumption. 

There  have  been  two  methods  of  determining  the  simplex 
inheritance  of  the  parents :  in  some  cases  it  has  been  the 
study  of  the  ancestors,  in  others  it  has  been  the  condition  of 
the  offspring. 

The  reader  will  find  the  matings  that  we  have  considered, 
indicated  by  Roman  numerals  on  the  various  charts  of  the 
Hereditary  Group.  ( (FF  —  FF)  matings,  being  obvious,  are  not 
marked.) 

I  —  means  that  the  father  is  feeble-minded,  the  mother  normal 
but  simplex. 

II  —  means  that  the  mother  is  feeble-minded,  the  father 
simplex. 

III  —  means  that  one  parent  is  feeble-minded  and  the  other 
normal  —  either  simplex  or  duplex. 

IV  —  means  that  one  parent  is  normal  but  simplex  and  the 
other  normal,  either  simplex  or  duplex. 

V  —  means  that  both  father  and  mother  are  normal  but 
simplex. 

Matings  of  the  type  I  and  II  are  the  same  so  far  as  the  Men- 
dehan  formula  is  concerned,  that  is,  they  are  matings  of  a  simplex 
with  a  nulHplex  (feeble-minded).  We  have  kept  them  separate 
in  order  to  test  the  question  of  whether  there  is  a  sex-Kmited, 
exclusive  or  prepotent  inheritance ;  whether  feeble-mindedness 
follows  either  the  mother  or  the  father.     No.  V  is  the  mating  of 


552  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

two  simplexes  which  gives  us  our  classical  formula  of  three  to  one. 
In  matings  IV  it  has  not  been  possible  to  determine  whether  it  is 
a  case  of  a  mating  of  a  duplex  wdth  a  simplex  or  of  a  mating  of  two 
simplexes.  In  like  manner  III  may  be  either  a  duplex  with  a 
nuUiplex  or  a  simplex  with  a  nulliplex. 

For  illustration  of  our  method  take  mating  I  on  Chart  2. 
The  father  is  feeble-minded,  the  mother  normal,  there  are 
three  normal  children  and  two  feeble-minded.  Assuming 
that  Mendel's  law  is  true  of  human  heredity,  that  normal- 
mindedness  is  a  unit  character,  and  that  normahty  is  dominant 
over  feeble-mindedness,  then  it  follows  that :  The  father  is 
nulliplex,  represented  by  FF,  for  if  he  were  simplex  (NF)  he 
would  be  normal.  The  mother  is  simplex  (NF) ;  she  cannot 
be  nulliplex  because  that  means  feeble-minded;  moreover  she 
has  normal  children  and  two  feeble-minded  parents  cannot 
have  normal  children.  She  cannot  be  duplex  (NN)  because 
she  has  also  feeble-minded  children  and  a  duplex  parent 
cannot  have  nulliplex  (feeble-minded)  children  no  matter  what 
the  mentality  of  the  other  parent.  Therefore,  these  parents  are 
properly  represented  FF-NF. 

The  argument  would  be  the  same  if  the  mother  were  charted 
undetermined.  On  Chart  9  are  two  matings  (marked  II)  of  the 
same  character  except  that  here  the  mother  is  FF  and  the  father 
must  be  NF. 

On  Chart  2  mating  III,  the  parents  are  normal  and  feeble- 
minded as  before,  but  there  are  no  feeble-minded  children,  so  we 
cannot  say  whether  the  normal  parent  is  duplex  or  simplex,  since 
in  either  case  there  could  be  normal  children.  Of  course  if  there 
were  enough  children  some  would  have  been  feeble-minded  if 
the  normal  parent  were  simplex.  But  with  only  three  children 
we  cannot  be  sure.  We  cannot,  therefore,  count  this  mating 
in  Group  II. 

In  this  manner  we  have  grouped  all  matings  where  enough  is 
known  to  enable  us  to  determine  their  character. 


THE   RESULTS 


553 


No. 

OF 

Mat- 

INGS 

Total 
Off- 
spring 

D.  Inf. 

AND 

Misc. 

Undeter- 
mined 
Mental- 
ity 

Feeble-minded 
Offspring 

Normal  Offspring 

Type  of  Mating 

Actual 
Findings 

Theoreti- 
cal Expec- 
tation 

Actual 
Findings 

Theoreti- 
cal Expec- 
tation 

A   FF— ] 
I   FF— I 

II   NF— 

III  FF— 

IV  NF— 

V  NF— I 

FF 

Fpi 

NN 
[NF 

NN 
[NF 
^F 

144 
42 
61 

37 

14 
26 

749 

257 
374 

133 

54 

185 

149 
65 

83 

26 

3 
38 

118 

48 
98 

39 

4 
25 

476 

71 
122 

39 

482 

72 

96i 
30I 

6 

73 
71 

68 

47 
83 

0 

72 

96i 

94 

In  the  foregoing  Table  will  be  found  the  figures  as  they 
were  arranged  in  the  preHminary  work.  The  FF  —  FF  matings 
have  been  already  considered.  In  the  next  two  (I  and  II)  we 
have  the  same  Mendelian  condition  {i.e.  a  simplex  and  a  nulli- 
plex)  but  we  have  separated  the  matings  in  order  to  determine 
whether  there  were  more  feeble-minded  children  when  the  mother 
was  feeble-minded  and  the  father  normal  than  when  the  mother 
was  normal  and  the  father  feeble-minded. 

The  42  matings  where  the  father  is  nuUiplex  and  the  mother 
is  simplex,  FF  —  NF,  give  the  following : 

There  were  257  offspring  of  whom  65  were  deaths  in  infancy 
and  miscarriages,  and  48  were  unknown  as  to  mentality,  lea\Tng 
144  whose  mentaHty  is  known  ;  these  should  be  half  normal,  half 
defective.  That  is,  the  expectation  is  72  feeble-minded ;  actually 
there  are  71.     The  expectation  is  72  normal;   the  actual  is  73. 

When  the  father  is  simplex  and  the  mother  is  nulliplex,  we  have 
61  matings  with  193  surviving  children  of  known  mentahty. 
This  gives  an  expectation  of  96J  feeble-minded  with  an  actual  of 
122  ;  an  expectation  of  96I  normal  with  an  actual  number  of  71. 

It  would  seem  from  this  that  the  feeble-mindedness  follows  the 


Un  I  and  II  the  first  letters  indicate  the  father,  those  followin; 
indicate  the  mother.     In  all  other  cases  the  order  is  of  no  significance. 


the  dash 


554 


FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


mother  to  a  certain  extent ;  when  she  is  feeble-minded  there  are 
more  feeble-minded  children  than  the  expectation ;  when  she  is 
normal  the  actual  number  agrees  with  the  expectation.  The 
explanation  is  not  clear.  It  has  been  suggested  that  the  excess 
of  feeble-minded  children  when  the  mother  is  feeble-minded  is 
due  to  the  bad  environment  which  the  mother  provides.  If 
this  is  true  we  seem  to  have  a  measure  of  the  environmental  influ- 
ence —  it  increases  the  number  of  feeble-minded  children  about 
one  fourth.  There  are  however  no  facts  to  prove  that  lack  of 
care  produces  feeble-mindedness.  It  is  perhaps  not  unnatural 
to  expect  that  the  mother  would  have  somewhat  greater  potency 
than  the  father  in  determining  feeble-mindedness.  There  may 
be  something  approaching  a  sex  limited  inheritance. 

These  two  groups  are  combined  to  get  the  MendeHan  results 
in  the  case  of  matings  of  a  simplex  with  a  nulliplex,  in  the  next 
table. 

In  the  above  count  we  have  all  the  (FF — NF)  and  (NF  —  FF) 
matings  where  there  were  any  F  of  spring  but  none  of  such  mat- 
ings where  there  were  only  N  offspring.  In  any  mating  where  one 
parent  was  feeble-minded  and  the  other  normal,  we  could  not 
be  sure  that  the  normal  member  of  the  mating  was  simplex  since 
N  offspring  could  come  from  (FF  —  NN)  as  well  as  from  (FF  — 
NF).  In  many  (FF  —  NF)  matings  resulting  in  only  one  or  two 
children  it  might  happen  that  they  would  be  the  NF  (normal) 
ones,  whereas  if  there  had  been  more  the  FF  would  have  appeared. 

There  are  37  matings  of  this  kind  (III)  with  68  N  children. 
It  is  fair  to  assume  that  there  were  as  many  NF  as  NN  mates 
among  these  37  matings  and  therefore  half  of  them  properly 
go  with  our  (FF  —  NF)  group.  (The  remainder  are  recorded  in 
the  second  table  as  the  (FF  —  NN)  group.)  If  we  accordingly 
add  half  of  III  to  I  and  II,  we  have  the  complete  figures  for  the 
(FF  —  NF)  matings.     See  the  second  table— next  page. 

The  mating  of  two  simplexes  (V)  gives  us  the  following :  26 
matings  185  offspring;   38  died  in  infancy  or  were  miscarriages, 


EXPECTED   AND   ACTUAL 


555 


25  were  undetermined  as  to  their  mentality,  leaving  122  cases 
of  whom  30I  should  be  feeble-minded  and  91 J  normal,  including 
simplex  and  duplex.  (NF  —  NF)  matings  give  3  :  i ,  N  and  F  off- 
spring. Our  results  are:  normal  expected  91 1,  actual  83; 
feeble-minded  expected  30J,  actual  39. 

These  figures  also  are  surprisingly  close  but  they  too  are  sub- 
ject to  a  correction. 

In  some  matings  where  both  parents  are  N  (IV)  and  there 
are  no  F  children  there  is  no  certainty  that  both  parents  were  sim- 
plex. Since  however  all  these  cases  occur  in  famihes  where  hered- 
itary feeble-mindedness  is  present,  we  may  safely  assume  that 
half  of  them  were  (NF  —  NF)  matings.  (The  other  half  con- 
stitute the  (NF  —  NN)  matings  of  Table  II.)  There  are  14  such 
matings  with  47  children.  Half  of  these  is  24,  divided  in  ratio 
of  3  : 1  gives  as  ''  expectation  "  18  N  and  6  F.  These  added  to 
figures  given  above  show  the  final  record  for  simplex  matings : 
normal  expected  109I,  actual  107  ;  feeble-minded  expected  36J, 
actual  39.     See  following  table. 

Here  again  the  close  agreement  of  the  actual  count  with  the 
expectation  is  strongly  confirmatory  of  the  theory. 


No.  OF 
Mat- 
ings 

Total 
Off- 
spring 

D.  Inf. 

AND 

Misc. 

Undeter- 
mined 
Mental- 
ity 

Feeble-minded 
Offspring 

Normal  Offspring 

Type  of  Mating 

Actual 
Findings 

Theoreti- 
cal Expec- 
tation 

Actual 
Findings 

Theoreti- 
cal Expec- 
tation 

FF  — FF 
FF  — NF 

FF  — NN 
NF  — NF 
NF  — NN 

144 

122 

18 

7 

749 
698 

66 

212 

27 

149 

161 

13 

39 

2 

118 

166 

19 

27 
2 

476 

193 
0 

39 
0 

482 

i85i 

0 
0 

6 

178 

34 
107 

23 

0 

i85i 

34 

109J 

23 

Totals 

324 

1752 

364 

332 

708 

704 

348 

352 

In  this  table  will  be  found  in  final  form  the  figures  on  each 
of  the  five  possible  matings. 

In  the  totals  of  all  of  these  matings  the  expectation  would  be 


556  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

feeble-minded  704,  the  actual  is  708;  normal,  expectation  352, 
actual  348.  Such  results  are  difficult  to  account  for  on  any 
other  basis  than  that  feeble-mindedness  is  transmitted  in  accord- 
ance with  the  MendeHan  formula. 

An  examination  of  the  matings  which  we  have  marked  and  on 
which  these  figures  are  based  will  enable  the  reader  to  judge  of  the 
accuracy  of  the  classifications  of  the  matings  that  have  been  used. 

Since  our  figures  agree  so  closely  with  MendeHan  expectation 
and  since  there  are  few  if  any  cases  where  the  MendeHan  formula 
does  not  fit  the  facts,  the  h^^othesis  seems  to  stand  :  viz.  normal- 
mindedness  is,  or  at  least  behaves  like,  a  unit  character ;  is  domi- 
nant and  is  transmitted  in  accordance  with  the  MendeHan  law  of 
inheritance. 

The  writer  confesses  to  being  one  of  those  psychologists  who 
find  it  hard  to  accept  the  idea  that  the  intelligence  even  acts 
like  a  unit  character.  But  there  seems  to  be  no  way  to  escape 
the  conclusion  from  these  figures. 

It  might  be  possible  to  escape  the  conclusion  of  the  figures 
in  one  type  of  mating  —  e.g.  the  (FF  —  NF)  matings  which  give 
half  N,  half  F,  on  the  ground  of  some  statistical  error,  or  mis- 
taken interpretation,  but  when  we  see  each  of  the  types  inde- 
pendently giving  what  the  hypothesis  requires  we  are  forced  to 
accept  the  conclusion. 

(NN  —  NN)  matings  practically  never  give  defective  children 
except  by  injury.     See  the  Accident  Group. 

(FF  —  FF)  matings  practicaUy  always  give  defective  children. 

(FF  —  NF)  matings  give  half  normal,  half  defective. 

(NF  —  NF)  matings  give  three  normals  to  one  defective. 
This  is  MendeHan  inheritance. 

In  view  of  this  situation  it  is  somewhat  comforting  to  find  that 
there  is  a  school  of  English  writers  who  'ncline  somewhat  strongly 
toward  the  view  of  what  has  been  called  '' A  general  intelligence." 
This  view  is  perhaps  best  expressed  by  Cyril  Burt,  M.A.  (See 
Child  Study,  Vol.  4 — 191 1-) 


GENERAL  INTELLIGENCE  557 

''Our  final  conclusions,  then,  may  be  summarized  as  follows: 
''  General  intelligence  exists,  is  definable,  and  can  be  measured. 
It  can  be  most  readily  measured  by  tests  of  the  higher  and  more 
complex  levels  of  mental  activity.  It  may  be  defined  as  all- 
around  innate  mental  efficiency;  for  excellence  at  these  tests 
and  at  tests  like  them  proves  to  be  the  expression  of  a  mental 
property  neither  merely  specialized  nor  merely  acquired,  but 
something  all-pervading,  something  inherited,  something  inborn} 
Lastly,  we  may  have  no  hesitation  in  assuming  that  such  a 
capacity  exists ;  for  its  basis  may  be  pictured  as  a  tendency  to 
integration  in  the  structure  of  the  central  nervous  system. 
Hence,  that  child  will  be  the  most  generally  intelKgent  who  in- 
herits a  brain  which  has  been  thruout  laid  down  for  development 
along  the  most  systematic  fines." 

Perhaps  this  is  a  view  that  we  must  come  to.  At  least  it  is 
comforting  to  find  that  the  existence  of  a  general  intelligence 
has  already  been  arrived  at  by  an  entirely  different  method  of 
approach. 

Note.  In  this  connection  it  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  quote  also  Prof.  Wundt. 
{Philosophische  Studien,  X.  1 21-124.) 

"  And  if  I  were  asked  in  what  for  me  the  worth  of  experimental  observation  in 
psychology  has  consisted,  and  still  consists,  I  should  say  that  it  has  given  me  an 
entirely  new  idea  of  the  nature  and  connection  of  our  inner  processes.  I  learned 
in  the  achievements  of  the  sense  of  sight  to  apprehend  the  fact  of  creative  mental 

synthesis  .  .  .     From  my  inquiry  into  time-relations,  etc I  attained  an 

insight  into  the  close  union  of  all  those  psychic  functions  usually  separated  by 
artificial  abstractions  and  names,  such  as  ideation,  feeling,  will;  and  I  saw  the 
indivisibility  and  inner  homogeneity,  in  all  its  phases,  of  the  mental  life.  The 
chronometric  study  of  association-processes  finally  showed  me  that  the  notion  of 
distinct  mental  '  images '  {reproducirten  Vorstcllungen)  was  one  of  those  numerous 
self-deceptions  which  are  no  sooner  stamped  in  a  verbal  term  than  they  forthwith 
thrust  non-existent  fictions  into  the  place  of  the  reality." 

This  is  quoted  with  approval  by  Prof.  James,  who  adds : 

"  As  I  interpret  it,  it  amounts  to  a  complete  espousal  of  the  vaguer  conception 
of  the  stream  of  thought,  and  a  complete  renunciation  of  the  whole  business,  still 
so  industriously  carried  on  in  textbooks,  of  chopping  up  '  the  mind '  into  distinct 
units  of  composition  or  function,  numbering  these  oflf,  and  labelling  them  by  tech- 
nical names."     {Talks  to  Teachers,  p.  21.) 

1  Italics  ours. 


CHAPTER   IX 

(eugenics  \ 

The  large  share  of  attention  which  has  been  given  to  the  new 
science  of  eugenics,  or  race  betterment,  shows  conclusively  that 
society  is  intensely  interested  in  this  problem  of  the  improvement 
of  the  race.  This  being  the  case,  the  discovery  of  the  high 
percentage  of  hereditary  feeble-mindedness  seems  to  present  a 
natural  point  of  attack. 

The  feeble-minded  person  is  not  desirable,  he  is  a  social  encum- 
brance, often  a  burden  to  himself.  In  short  it  were  better  both 
for  him  and  for  society  had  he  never  been  born.  Should  we  not 
then,  in  our  attempt  to  improve  the  race,  begin  by  preventing 
the  birth  of  more  feeble-minded?  This  is  a  program  which  is 
attracting  much  attention. 

The  eugenist  proposes  to  work  along  two  lines ;  first,  to  re- 
strain the  ignorant  and  unintelligent  from  such  matings  as  will 
surely  result  in  defective  offspring;  second,  to  appeal  to  the 
reason  of  intelHgent  persons  not  to  marry  into  famihes  where 
there  is  any  hereditary  taint  whereby  their  offspring  may  be 
affected. 

Let  us  consider  the  second  of  these  plans  first.  In  the  light 
of  what  has  been  discovered  from  this  study,  can  any  directions 
or  suggestions  be  given  that  shall  serve  as  a  guide  to  persons 
about  to  marry  ?  Apparently  the  facts  warrant  the  drawing  of 
conclusions  of  profound  interest. 

We  must  emphasize  first  the  difference  between  the  hereditary 
and  the  non-hereditary  cases.  According  to  the  most  univer- 
sally accepted  biological  principles  of  to-day,  conditions  that  are 

SS8 


EUGENICS.      ACQUIRED  CHARACTERS  559 

acquired  by  the  individual  in  his  Ufetime  are  not  capable  of 
being  transmitted  to  his  offspring. 

There  are  two  parts  to  a  human  being,  the  body  or  soma,  which 
is  individual,  and  the  germ  cell  which  is  racial.  All  traits  that 
are  transmitted  must  come  thru  the  germ  cell.  Nothing  which 
affects  only  the  body  can  be  transmitted  to  the  offspring  .J  It  is 
still  a  mooted  question  whether  there  is  anything  that  acts  upon 
the  body  that  can  get  down  to  the  germ  cell  and  affect  it.  If 
this  can  happen  then  that  influence  is  transmitted.  If  it  ever 
happens,  it  is  in  such  unusual  and  obscure  ways  that  it  has  not 
yet  been  demonstrated.  Yet  we  know  the  race  has  developed, 
which  means  that  somehow  various  influences  and  conditions 
have  reached  the  germ  cells  and  have  been  transmitted  from 
father  to  son. 

^As  apphed  to  our  problem  this  means  that  if  a  person  is  feeble- 
minded because  of  spinal  meningitis  he  could  not  possibly  transmit 
his  defective  condition  since  it  has  affected  the  body  only  and  not 
the  germ  cells.  There  would  be  no  objection  eugenically  to  marry- 
ing a  person  who  was  mentally  defective  thru  meningitis  or  any 
other  of  the  supposed  '^causes"  which  are  grouped  under  the  head 
of  accidents.  No  argument  is  necessary  to  show  that  a  person 
feeble-minded  from  whatever  cause  is  not  a  desirable  mate,  but 
if  for  any  reason  such  a  marriage  should  be  consummated  there 
would  be  no  possible  fear  of  any  of  the  children  being  mentally 
defective  unless  there  was  some  taint  of  defect  in  the  germ  cell. 
So  much  for  the  cases  that  come  in  our  Accident  Group. 

Suppose  we  apply  our  question  to  the  group  of  neuropathic 
ancestry;  that  is  to  say,  should  a  high  grade  feeble-minded 
person,  whose  condition  is  ascribed  to  neuropathic  ancestry,  be 
allowed  to  marry?  and  secondly,  should  a  normal  person,  a 
brother  or  sister  it  may  be,  of  such  a  defective  be  allowed 
to  marry  ?  The  question  is  one  that  Hes  between  the  accidental 
and  the  truly  hereditary  cases.  In  the  former  we  can  plead  the 
law  of  the  non-transmissibiHty  of  an  acquired  character ;   in  the 


560  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

latter  we  can  apply  the  Mendelian  hypothesis  and  so  far  as  we 
can  see  the  consequences,  we  can  make  fairly  definite  predictions. 

In  neuropathic  ancestry  the  case  is  different.  If  we  are  correct 
in  ascribing  the  feeble-mindedness  of  these  cases  to  the  neuro- 
pathic condition  of  the  ancestors  then  there  is  probably  no  danger 
of  the  feeble-mindedness  itself  being  transmitted.  Nevertheless 
the  fact  that  the  neuropathic  condition  is  so  prevalent  in  these 
families  makes  it  exceedingly  doubtful  whether  any  member  of 
them  should  marry.  Undoubtedly  an  ideal  eugenics  would  say 
that  they  should  not.  On  the  other  hand,  there  are  in  these 
families  many  members  who  are  apparently  perfectly  normal,  who 
have  transmitted  apparently  normal  minds  and  bodies  to  their  off- 
spring. The  defect  which  appears  all  about  them  in  the  other 
branches  does  not  show  in  their  line.  It  therefore  becomes  un- 
safe, if  not  impossible,  to  proscribe  marriage  for  such  persons.  At 
some  future  time  a  better  psychology  and  a  more  highly  developed 
biology  will  perhaps  enable  us  to  give  a  more  definite  answer  to  such 
questions.  At  present  it  will  depend  upon  the  knowledge,  and 
shall  we  say,  courage,  of  the  persons  who  propose  to  marry.  As 
long  as  they  are  ignorant  of  all  the  problems  of  which  this  book 
treats,  they  will  marry  just  as  such  persons  always  have  married. 
To  those  who  know  the  difficulties,  the  probabilities,  it  will  be  the 
question  of  how  much  they  dare  to  take  the  responsibility,  coupled 
with  how  keenly  they  feel  that  responsibihty. 

In  the  present  state  of  our  knowledge,  neither  the  nearest 
friend  nor  the  expert  can  go  further  than  to  give  to  a  person 
from  such  a  family,  who  suffers  from  any  of  these  disabilities, 
more  or  less  urgent  advice  that  he  should  not  marry.  If  he  does 
not  suffer  in  this  way  we  cannot  even  give  this  advice  but  must 
admit  the  possibihty  that,  since  he  himself  shows  good  mentality 
and  good  physical  constitution,  it  is  entirely  possible  that  he  may 
have  escaped  all  the  taints  that  are  found  in  the  family. 

In  the  case  of  hereditary  feeble-mindedness  the  situation  is 
quite  different.     It  is  clear  from  the  data  already  presented  that 


EUGENIC  PRINCIPLES  561 

feeble-mindedness  is  hereditary  in  a  large  percentage  of  the  cases, 
and  that  it  is  transmitted  in  accordance  with  the  Mendehan 
formula.  The  significance  of  this  second  conclusion  Ues  in  the 
fact  that,  knowing  the  method  by  which  it  is  transmitted,  we  are 
able  to  predict  the  consequences  of  any  mating  providing  we 
know  all  of  the  conditions.  The  case  may  be  made  concrete 
and  definite  by  taking  the  different  possible  combinations  and 
considering  the  consequences  in  each  case. 

First :  if  both  parents  are  feeble-minded  all  the  children  will 
be  feeble-minded.  It  is  obvious  that  such  ma  tings  should  not 
be  allowed. 

Second:  when  one  parent  is  duplex  normal  and  the  other  feeble- 
minded all  the  children  are  normal  but  all  are  capable  of  trans- 
mitting feeble-mindedness,  —  we  say  technically  they  are  simplex. 

It  would  seem  that  it  ought  to  be  unnecessary  to  urge  that  no 
normal  person  should  ever  marry  a  feeble-minded  person,  but 
this  sometimes  happens,  it  is  therefore  a  matter  for  society  to 
consider.  The  fact  that  all  of  the  children  of  such  matings 
appear  normal  has  undoubtedly  contributed  to  the  argument 
for  such  matings.  In  the  past,  being  ignorant  of  the  Mendehan 
formula  in  its  appKcation  to  this  problem,  we  have  not  reahzed 
that  it  is  the  second  generation,  not  the  first,  that  shows  the  evil 
effects  of  such  matings.  For  the  sake  of  the  illustration  let  us 
assume  that  such  a  mating  has  been  made.  A  normal  person 
from  normal  ancestry  on  both  sides,  in  other  words  a  duplex 
normal  man  or  woman,  mates  with  a  feeble-minded  person, 
all  the  children  will  be  normal  but  simplex,  as  above  stated. 
That  is,  they  will  have  inherited  normality  from  only  one  of  the 
parents,  and  will  have  inherited  feeble-mindedness  from  the 
other.  Let  us  suppose  that  these  children  marry ;  what  will  be 
the  consequence  ?  There  are  three  kinds  of  marriages  open  to 
them :  these  normal  but  simplex  persons  may  marry  feeble- 
minded persons,  simplex  normal  persons  like  themselves,  or  du- 
plex normal  persons.     Consider  each  one  of  these  separately. 


562  /  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 


'irst :  this  simplex  normal  person  marries  a  feeble-minded 
person,  then  according  to  the  MendeHan  h^^Dothesis,  half  of  the 
children  will  be  feeble-minded,  half  will  be  normal,  but  simplex. 
It  is  necessary  to  reiterate  at  this  point  one  of  the  pecuKar 
Kmitations  when  we  attempt  to  apply  the  Mendehan  formula 
to  human  heredity.  In  plants  and  in  many  animals  the  offspring 
are  sufficiently  numerous  so  that  the  proportions  of  the  formula 
are  easily  demonstrated  in  any  mating.  In  the  human  family  the 
offspring,  being  born  one  at  a  time,  may  number  anywhere  from 
one  to  many.  Usually,  as  we  know,  in  modern  times  the  f  amihes  are 
relatively  small.  When  we  say  that  if  a  simplex  normal  person 
marries  a  feeble-minded  person  half  of  the  children  will  be  sim- 
plex normal  and  half  will  be  feeble-minded,  we  mean  that  in  the 
long  run  this  ratio  will  hold.  We  do  not  mean  that  if  there  are 
four  children  two  of  them  will  be  feeble-minded  and  two  normal. 
If  there  were  only  four  children  it  might  happen  that  they  would 
all  be  feeble-minded,  or  it  might  happen  that  they  would  all  be 
simplex  normal.  In  other  words  we  are  dealing  with  the  doctrine 
of  probability  and  in  order  to  give  that  doctrine  a  chance  to  be 
demonstrated  there  must  be  a  large  enough  number  of  cases.  It 
is  hke  pitching  pennies,  we  know  that  a  penny  thrown  in  the  air 
will  come  down  half  of  the  time  heads  up  and  half  of  the  time 
tails.  If  one  throws  a  penny  only  half  a  dozen  times  he  may 
get  all  tails  or  all  heads  or  any  other  combination.  If  he  throws 
it  a  hundred  times  he  will  come  very  near  to  getting  fifty  heads 
and  fifty  tails.  According  to  the  doctrine  of  probabiKties  there 
is  an  even  chance  that  the  first  child  of  such  a  mating  would  be 
either  feeble-minded  or  simplex  normal.  If  it  were  normal, 
there  would  be  only  one  chance  in  four  that  the  next  child  would 
be  normal.  If  that  one  happens  to  be  normal  there  w^ould  be 
one  chance  in  eight  that  the  third  child  would  also  be  normal. 
Finally,  if  this  happened  also  to  be  normal  there  would  only  be 
one  chance  in  sixteen  that  the  fourth  child  would  likewise  be 
normal. 


/ 


REGARDING  MARRIAGE  563 


Consider  the  next  kind  of  mating  that  is  open  for  this  simplex 
normal  child  of  our  original  couple.  He  may  marry  a  simplex 
normal  person  like  himself ;  the  result  here  will  be  the  Mendelian 
ratio  of  three  to  one,  that  is,  there  will  be  three  normal  children 
to  one  feeble-minded;  but  of  these  three  normal  children  only 
one  will  be  duplex  normal,  the  other  two  will  be  simplex  and 
capable  of  transmitting  the  defect  just  as  their  parents  did.  It 
is  in  this  case  and  the  following  one  that  we  get  the  greatest  diffi- 
culty and  also  the  greatest  help  from  an  understanding  of  Men- 
delism.  Since  both  these  persons  are  apparently  normal,  even 
if  they  are  conscious  of  the  eugenics  problem  at  all,  they  are  apt 
to  conclude  that  because  they  are  normal  their  children  will  be 
normal.  The  fact  is,  that  only  one  child  in  four  will  be  duplex 
normal,  and  one  child  in  four  will  be  feeble-minded.  How 
then  shall  normal  people  know  whether  it  is  safe  for  them  to 
marry  ?  The  answer  is  —  thru  a  study  of  their  ancestry.  Tak- 
ing the  assumed  case  as  an  illustration  —  the  man  was  the  child 
of  a  feeble-minded  father  and  a  normal  mother ;  therefore,  he 
was  not  a  duplex  normal  man ;  he  marries  a  wife  that  is  also  a 
child  of  parents  one  of  whom  was  feeble-minded  and  the  other 
normal.  Such  persons  should  know  the  nature  of  their  parents 
and  therefore  know  whether  they  should  marry  or  not.  The 
rule  here  is  simple  and  easily  followed.  No  person  who  knows 
that  he  is  simplex  in  regard  to  intelligence  should  marry  a  person 
who  is  also  simplex. 

NyConsider  the  last  possibility  for  this  simplex  person ;  he  may 
marry  a  duplex  normal  person;  the  result  here  will  be  that 
all  of  the  children  will  be  normal  but  half  of  them  will 
be  simplex,  the  other  half  being  duplex.  From  his  own 
standpoint,  this  simplex  person  has  done  the  one  wise  thing; 
this  is  what  Dr.  Davenport  means  by  insisting  that  weakness 
should  marry  strength.  From  the  standpoint  of  the  normal 
person  whom  he  marries  the  case  is  quite  different ;  it  then  be- 
comes strength  marrying  weakness  and  the  bringing  in  of  weak- 


564  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESb 

ness  to  at  least  half  of  the  children.  These  simplex  children  may 
marry  duplex  normals  as  their  simplex  parent  did  and  so  the 
defect  may  remain  dormant  or  recessive  as  long  as  weakness 
marries  strength,  but  whenever  any  descendant  of  this  family 
who  is  simplex  marries  a  simplex  person  the  defect  may  re- 
appear. 

These  constitute  all  of  the  possible  combinations  of  simplex 
with  simplex,  with  duplex  or  with  feeble-minded. 

There  is  a  much  more  difhcult  problem  which  may  be  dis- 
cussed in  this  same  connection.  The  thotful,  intelhgent  person 
who  considers  the  laws  of  eugenics  for  his  own  case  has,  in  what 
has  already  been  said,  a  very  definite  guide.  When  he  has 
decided  that  he  wishes  to  marry  and  is  satisfied  to  marry  a  partic- 
ular person,  the  next  question  to  be  considered  is,  does  he  wish 
and  is  he  content  to  marry  into  a  particular  family.  He  needs 
to  know  his  own  condition,  whether  simplex  or  duplex,  and  the 
condition  of  his  proposed  mate  even  when  she  is  normal.  He 
knows  that  if  either  her  father  or  mother  was  feeble-minded  that 
she  at  best  is  only  simplex.  But  if  her  father  and  mother  were 
each  simplex  then  there  is  one  chance  in  four  that  she  is  duplex 
normal.  And  still  further,  if  one  of  her  parents  was  duplex 
normal  and  the  other  simplex  then  there  is  one  chance  in  two  that 
she  is  duplex  and  one  in  two  that  she  is  simplex.  It  is  a  question 
of  chance ;  in  the  one  case  there  is  one  chance  in  four  that  she 
is  normal,  and  assuming  that  he  himself  is  duplex  normal  their 
children  will  all  be  normal.  Or  in  the  other  kind  of  family  there 
is  one  chance  in  two  that  she  is  normal  and  their  children  will  be 
normal. 

Among  several  normal  children,  is  there  no  way  of  telHng 
which  are  duplex  and  which  are  simplex  ?  In  the  case  of  the 
typical  Mendehan  formula  where  a  simplex  man  marries  a  sim- 
plex woman  and  the  children  are  in  the  ratio  of  three  to  one 
—  or  more  strictly,  one  normal  duplex  to  two  normals  simplex 
to  one  feeble-minded  —  is  there  no  way  of  telHng  which  is  the 


THE   CONTROL   OF  MATING3  565 

one  that  is  duplex  and  which  are  the  two  that  are  simplex? 
There  is  no  way . 

In  certain  fowls  white  color  is  dominant;  if  these  are  crossed 
with  a  brown  variety,  three  of  the  offspring  are  white  and  one 
is  brown.  Of  the  three  whites  one  will  produce  white  offspring, 
the  other  two  are  simplex  and  will  produce  white  and  brown.  In 
this  case  there  is  a  way  to  tell  the  one  which  will  produce  the  white 
chick.  This  duplex  fowl  is  absolutely  white  while  the  two  sim- 
plex have  a  few  colored  feathers,  known  technically  as  "ticks." 
It  is  a  very  tempting  notion  to  conceive  that  human  beings  might 
manifest  some  ''ticks";  that  a  simplex  normal  person  would 
not  be  quite  as  intelUgent  as  a  duplex  normal  person;  or  that 
the  simplex  person  would  have  some  physical  deformity  or  ab- 
normality or  pecuHarity  which  may  be  taken  as  indicating  the 
simplex  character.  Tempting  as  this  view  is  and  reasonable  as 
it  might  be,  there  is  at  present  httle  or  no  foundation  in  fact 
for  it.  It  may  be  that  in  the  future  such  a  thing  will  be  demon- 
strated. 

One  thing  seems  fairly  obvious,  a  person  whose  family  is  tainted 
with  defectiveness  should  not  take  any  chances  by  marrying  into 
a  family  that  is  also  tainted.  If  a  man  knows  that  he  and  his 
family  are  entirely  free  then  it  is  a  problem  as  to  whether  he  will 
take  the  chance  of  one  in  two  or  one  in  four,  or  whatever  it  may 
be,  by  marrying  into  a  tainted  family.  This  is  all  that  the  student 
of  eugenics  can  propose  at  the  present  time. 

We  return  now  to  the  first  part  of  the  eugenist's  program  — 
the  control  by  society  of  the  matings  of  those  people  who  have 
not  intelligence  enough  to  control  themselves.  It  is  perfectly 
clear  that  no  feeble-minded  person  should  ever  be  allowed  to 
marry  or  to  become  a  parent.  It  is  obvious  that  if  this  rule  is 
to  be  carried  out  the  intelHgent  part  of  society  must  enforce  it. 
There  is  to-day  a  goodly  quota  of  people  who  have  so  great  faith 
in  law  that  they  beheve  that  if  we  can  only  get  marriage  laws 
on    the    statute    books    our    problems    are    largely  solved.      A 


566  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

little  thot  shows  that  this  is  an  unusually  fruitless  procedure 
in  the  case  of  the  feeble-minded.  They  are  not  only  lacking  in 
control  but  they  are  lacking  often  in  the  perception  of  moral 
quahties ;  if  they  are  not  allowed  to  marry  they  are  nevertheless 
not  hindered  from  becoming  parents.  So  that,  if  we  are  abso- 
lutely to  prevent  a  feeble-minded  person  from  becoming  a  parent, 
something  must  be  done  other  than  merely  prohibiting  the  marry- 
ing. To  this  end  there  are  two  proposals :  the  first  is  coloniza- 
tion, the  second  is  sterilization. 

Colonization  is  efficient  and  does  not  offend  any  of  our  senti- 
ments but  as  a  solution  of  the  entire  problem  it  is  impracticable. 
That  is  to  say,  we  cannot  possibly  colonize  all  of  the  feeble- 
minded persons.  First,  because  it  takes  too  long  to  provide  the 
colonies,  even  tho  we  were  wilHng  to  provide  the  money ;  second, 
a  large  part  of  these  people  are  in  childhood  under  the  control  of 
their  parents  and  their  parents  will  not  consent  to  their  being 
colonized.  When  they  become  adults  we  have  no  hold  upon 
them  until  they  commit  some  crime;  and  they  can  do  a  vast 
amount  of  mischief  without  ever  getting  into  the  hands  of  the 
law. 

Sterilization,  even  in  the  form  of  vasectomy,  is  violently 
opposed  by  many  people  whose  sentiments  are  offended ;  even 
if  all  were  satisfied  with  the  practice,  it  could  not  under  any 
laws  as  yet  passed,  or  any  that  have  so  far  been  proposed,  reach 
any  considerable  percentage  of  the  defectives.  It  may  be  made 
very  useful  in  a  large  number  of  individual  cases  but  as  for  solv- 
ing the  problem  of  feeble-mindedness  it  has  practically  no  effect. 

The  opponents  of  eugenics  claim  that  nature  will  take  care  of 
the  whole  matter.  It  is  often  asked  —  does  not  feeble-minded- 
ness tend  to  run  out  ?  Could  not  the  stream  purify  itself  ?  A 
study  of  the  charts  here  presented  will  hardly  be  found  reassuring 
in  this  direction.  Yet  if  the  situation  were  controlled  by  high 
eugenic  ideals  there  is  no  doubt  that  there  would  be  a  strong 
tendency  toward  purification  of  the  stock.     If  a  simplex  person, 


DOES  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS  RUN  OUT?  567 

for  example,  always  married  a  duplex,  in  which  case  half  of  the 
children  would  be  duplex,  there  would  certainly  be  cases  in  which 
only  the  duplex  children  would  be  born,  and  so  the  simplex 
condition  would  be  ehminated.  That  this  does  actually  happen 
sometimes  seems  to  be  shown  on  the  charts,  altho  of  course  there 
is  no  proof  of  this.  Even  where  there  are  three  or  four  genera- 
tions of  normal  people  one  can  never  be  sure  that  the  feeble- 
minded taint  is  not  recessive  and  only  waiting  for  a  proper  mat- 
ing to  reappear. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  in  all  of  this  we  have  been  consid- 
ering only  feeble-mindedness.  The  question  of  insanity,  epi- 
lepsy and  other  heritable  traits  do  not  concern  us  here  except  in 
so  far  as  it  is  a  question  of  whether  the  marrying  into  famiUes 
tainted  with  these  conditions  has  any  pecuHar  effect  upon  feeble- 
mindedness. From  a  study  of  the  insanity  recorded  on  our 
charts  it  does  not  appear  that  a  person  who  marries  into  a  family 
where  there  is  insanity  would  be  in  any  especial  danger  of  having 
feeble-minded  children.  Insanity  itself  may  be  hereditary  and 
enough  to  bar  such  a  marriage,  but  the  question  of  feeble- 
mindedness hardly  enters  unless  it  is  a  thoroly  neuropathic 
stock. 


CHAPTER   X 
PRACTICAL  APPLICATIONS 

First  has  been  considered  the  various  social  problems  and  the 
probable  relation  of  these  to  feeble-mindedness.  Then  were 
presented  the  data  which  have  been  collected  at  the  Vineland 
Research  Laboratory.  These  have  been  studied  and  arranged 
so  as  to  present  as  clearly  as  possible  whatever  conclusions  could 
be  logically  drawn  from  them.  It  remains  now  to  consider  what 
practical  use  can  be  made  of  such  facts  as  have  been  deduced. 

What  is  to  be  Done  ?  We  have  already  seen  that  a  large  per- 
centage of  paupers,  criminals,  drunkards,  prostitutes,  and  other 
ne'er-do-wells  are  mentally  defective.  A  study  of  the  family 
history  of  feeble-minded  persons  shows  that  at  least  two-thirds 
of  feeble-minded  people  have  inherited  their  feeble-mindedness, 
and  that  this  feeble-mindedness  is  transmitted  in  accordance 
with  the  Mendelian  formula.  It  has  also  shown  that  the  size  of 
famihes  among  these  defectives  is  at  least  twice  as  great  as 
among  the  general  population.  In  other  words  the  feeble-minded 
population  contributing  largely  to  our  pauper,  criminal,  drunkard 
and  prostitute  classes  is  growing  rapidly.  It  would  seem  from 
this  that  society  cannot  attack  these  problems  in  any  more  suc- 
cessful way  than  to  attack  one  of  the  fundamental  causes  of  the 
problem,  namely  :  feeble-mindedness.  And  we  must  attack  this 
from  the  standpoint  of  inheritability.  It  might  be  a  defensible 
position  to  propose  to  go  on  as  we  are  doing  with  the  pauper  and 
criminal,  drunkard  and  prostitute,  taking  care  of  them  until 
they  die,  if  the  present  group  were  the  end.  But  the  instant 
we  realize  that  these  groups  are  continually  being  replenished, 

S68 


PRACTICAL  APPLICATIONS  569 

that  our  problem  instead  of  growing  less  is  actually  growing 
greater,  we  discover  how  hopeless  is  the  situation,  unless  we  can 
accomplish  more  in  the  future  than  we  have  in  the  past.  More 
than  half  of  the  states  have  given  some  attention  to  the  question 
of  feeble-mindedness,  to  the  extent  at  least  of  building  an  Insti- 
tution to  care  for  them.  But  very  few,  possibly  none,  have  as 
yet  caught  up  with  the  problem,  that  is  to  say,  they  have  not 
done  enough  to  take  care  of  the  natural  increase  to  say  nothing 
of  reducing  the  source  of  supply.  The  problem  is  a  large  one 
and  the  difhculties  are  great,  but  it  would  appear  that  we  have 
not  taken  advantage  of  those  things  that  are  actually  within  our 
control. 

Paupers.  The  paupers  in  our  almshouses  are  under  our  con- 
trol. Probably  half  of  them  are  feeble-minded ;  and  many  of  these 
feeble-minded  paupers  are  continuing  to  propagate  feeble-minded- 
ness. One  of  the  first  places  to  begin  therefore  in  attacking  this 
matter,  is  in  the  almshouses.  Every  inmate  of  every  almshouse 
should  be  examined  as  to  his  mentality  and  as  to  his  family 
history.  In  every  case  where  it  is  discovered  that  there  is  feeble- 
mindedness, or  that  the  individual  belongs  to  a  mentally  defec- 
tive family,  everything  possible  should  be  done  to  prevent  the 
further  propagation  of  that  stock. 

The  Criminal.  In  the  case  of  the  criminal  we  are  not  only  neg- 
lecting an  opportunity  but  we  are  committing  an  injustice.  If  half 
of  the  criminals  in  our  jails  and  prisons  and  reformatories  are  feeble- 
minded, they  are  irresponsible.  Shutting  these  people  in  a  jail  is 
as  great  an  injustice  as  the  punishment  of  any  innocent  man. 
Society  may  be  forgiven  for  its  past  action  in  this  matter  for  it 
knew  no  better;  but  now  that  we  know  the  facts,  not  neces- 
sarily the  exact  proportions,  but  the  general  fact  that  large 
numbers  of  these  people  are  mentally  incompetent,  it  is  our 
duty  to  act.  Every  penal  institution  must  be  examined  and 
the  number  of  its  defectives  determined;  then  these  defectives 
must  be  cared  for,  not  as  criminals,  but  as  feeble-minded. 


5  70  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

The  Drunkard.  The  drunkard  presents  a  peculiar  problem  in 
connection  with  which  we  have  acted  most  irrationally.  We  have 
attempted  to  punish  him  because  he  is  a  nuisance  but  our  pity 
is  so  strong  that  nowhere  is  the  law  enforced  in  regard  to  such 
cases.  We  arrest  them  and  fine  them  and  then  let  them  go  so 
that  we  can  arrest  and  fine  them  again,  still  hoping  in  spite  of 
all  our  experience  that  somehow  the  arresting  and  fining  will 
have  a  curative  effect. 

A  large  proportion  of  the  drunkards  are  feeble-minded  and 
neither  responsible  for  their  drinking  nor  for  what  they  do  when 
intoxicated.  As  with  the  others,  so  with  the  drunkard ;  there 
should  be  a  careful  mental  examination  and  treatment  in  accord 
therewith.  If  it  was  understood  that  this  would  be  the  procedure 
it  would  doubtless  be  easy  to  have  nearly  all  of  the  drunkards 
arrested.  We  should  in  this  way  get  hold  of  a  large  number  of 
mental  defectives  that  we  cannot  touch  by  any  other  method. 

Prostitutes.  And  what  of  the  prostitute,  that  committer  of 
a  crime  that  is  considered  as  so  peculiarly  offensive  in  human 
society  ?  Let  a  man  seduce  a  14  or  15  year  old  girl  and  we  punish 
the  man,  we  extend  our  pity  and  sympathy  to  the  girl,  we  call  her 
a  child  who  has  been  abused  and  mistreated.  More  than  half 
of  the  prostitutes  are  more  truly  children  than  a  1 5  year  old  girl ; 
they  are  more  Hke  children  of  ten  or  eleven  in  their  mentaHty,  altho 
adults  physically.  These  people  need  protection  not  punishment 
nor  preaching.  They  should  be  taken  into  custody  by  the  officers 
of  the  law,  not  necessarily  for  punishment,  surely  not  to  be  fined 
and  sent  out  again  to  do  the  same  thing  over,  but  to  be  treated, 
to  be  examined  as  to  their  mentality.  All  those  who  are 
found  to  be  feeble-minded  should  be  cared  for  as  feeble-minded. 

Ne'er-do-wells.  I  have  alluded  in  an  earlier  chapter  to  the 
person  who  is  called  the  ne'er-do-well  and  it  has  been  suggested  very 
often  that  he  too  is  a  feeble-minded  person.  What  shall  we  do  with 
him  ?  Under  our  present  ideas  we  can  do  nothing  officially.  He 
commits  no  crime,  he  is  not  a  nuisance  in  the  real  definition  of  that 


PRESENT  METHODS  INADEQUATE  57 1 

term,  and  there  is  no  way  in  which  society  can  arrest  him; 
but  much  can  be  accompUshed  by  recognizing  him.     Now  that 
we  know  what  feeble-mindedness  is,  and  we  have  come  to  sus- 
pect all  persons  who  are  incapable  of  adapting  themselves  to 
their  environment  and  Hving  up  to  the  conventions  of  society 
or  acting  sensibly,  of  being  feeble-minded,  we  are  ready  to  think 
of  all  these  ne'er-do-wells  as  possible  defectives.     Doubtless  the 
more  famiHar  we  become  with  defectiveness  the  better  we  shall 
be  able  to  judge  by  such  observation  as  we  can  give  of  the  truth 
of  our  diagnosis.     What  then?     If  we  can  do  nothing  more,  at 
least  the  mere  knowledge  of  the  condition  will  protect  us-  to  a 
large  extent.     That  is  to  say,  once  being  conscious  that  these 
people  are  defective  we  shall  protect  them  against  themselves 
in  many  ways ;   not  officially  by  arresting  them,  but  by  refusmg 
to  place  responsibihties  upon  them,  and  by  exercising  as  much 
control  over  them  as  we  do  over  normal  childhood. 

In  looking  at  the  problem  of  feeble-mindedness  itself  we  are 
often  confronted  with  the  difficulty  of  getting  hold  of  the  cases. 
There  are  so  many  feeble-minded  persons,  especially  if  we  mclude 
this  high  grade,  that  we  cannot  take  care  of  them.  Many  of  them 
do  not  commit  crimes  nor  become  nuisances,  and  even  if  we  had  an 
abundance  of  colonies  and  institutions  it  would  be  difficult  to  get 
them  into  them.  But  of  these  people  that  we  have  been  discuss- 
ing we  have  a  large  percentage  that  are  officially  in  the  hands 
of  the  law  The  practical  problem  is,  will  the  officers  of  the  law 
take  care  of  the  feeble-minded  persons  that  are  thrust  upon 
them>  It  must  not  be  forgotten  in  all  of  this,  that  it  is  not 
only  a  question  of  taking  care  of  these  individuals,  so  that 
they  themselves  are  less  a  menace  to  society  directly,  but  it  is  a 
question  of  heredity.  A  large  percentage  of  these  people  are 
not  only  obnoxious  themselves  but  they  are  propagatmg  their 
own  weak-mindedness  and  continuing  our  social  problems. 

Our  present  methods,  besides  being  unjust  and  cruel  and  thot- 
less  and  careless,  are  doing  nothing  to  prevent  the  continuance 


572  FEEBLE-MIXDEDNESS 

of  this  species  of  humanity.  It  is  hereditary  feeble-mindedness 
that  is  at  the  basis  of  all  these  problems,  and  it  is  hereditary 
feeble-mindedness  that  we  must  attack  and  attack  hard  if  we 
would  solve  them. 

Stanley  Hall  has  said  that  one's  feelings  and  impressions 
are  often  truer  than  one's  logical  reasoning.  One  cannot  study 
a  mass  of  data  like  the  preceding  without  having  certain  large 
and  general  impressions,  which,  while  not  demonstrable  by  a 
logical  array  of  premises  with  their  conclusions,  nevertheless 
have  a  certain  consistency  which  tenders  them  helpful  in  any 
attempt  that  may  be  made  to  use  the  facts  discovered  for  prac- 
tical purposes. 

The  first  of  these  we  may  designate  as  a  general  viewpoint  of 
the  problem  of  mental  defectiveness  —  the  conception  of  mental 
levels^  or  levels  of  intelligence.  IntelUgence  as  here  used  con- 
notes more  than  the  psychological  intellect,  it  is  more  the  popular 
understanding  of  the  term,  which,  when  reduced  to  psychological 
expression,  means  all  of  the  essential  mental  processes  in  such 
proportion  as  to  render  the  possessor  able  to  adapt  himself  to 
his  environment.  It  thus  includes  not  only  the  intellect  but 
the  sensibihties  and  the  will,  to  use  an  older  classification. 

Conscious  adaptation  to  one's  environment  involves,  on  the 
one  hand,  a  taking  into  account  one's  instincts,  impulses,  emo- 
tions, feelings ;  on  the  other  a  perception  of  the  situation  in  all 
those  details  to  which  adaptation  must  be  made.  It  involves 
a  calling  up  of  past  experiences  which  show  the  result  of  various 
lines  of  action  involving  association,  judgment,  reasoning ;  it 
involves  an  attention  to  the  situation  and  certain  habits  of  action 
therewith  connected.  The  amount  of  each  one  of  these  pro- 
cesses that  may  be  involved,  and  the  relative  proportion  of  them 
all  is  determined  by  the  environment  itself.  A  highly  complex 
situation  may  involve  the  highest  degree  of  all  of  these  processes, 
while  a  simple  situation  may  involve  only  a  part  of  them  or  all 
of  them  in  a  slight  degree.     We  may  thus  have  varying  degrees 


LEVELS  OF  INTELLIGENCE  573 

or  levels  of  intelligence  which  can  be  measured  by  the  degree  of 
complexity  of  the  environment  to  which  the  individual  is  capable 
of  adapting  himself. 

Such  a  conception  ought  not  to  be  difficult  to  entertain  since 
the  evidences  are  at  hand.  All  men  have  their  limitations,  some 
high,  some  low.  Strictly  speaking,  a  feeble-minded  person  is 
not  one  who  lacks  intelligence,  but  one  who  lacks  a  particular 
degree  of  intelhgence.  That  degree  or  level  is  fixed  not  arbi- 
trarily but  by  the  social  necessity.  Intelligence  is  thus  ^dative. 
This  again  is  a  common  enough  idea ;  we  say  of  a  man  that  he 
is  fairly  intelh'gent,  or  very  intelHgent,  or  among  the  most  intel- 
Hgent;  or  we  go  down  the  scale  and  say  he  is  only  moderately 
intelligent,  or  has  very  little  intelligence,  or  that  he  is  unintelli- 
gent, meaning  of  course,  that  his  degree  of  intelligence  is  ab- 
normally low.  / 

The  degree  of  intelligence  which  marks  the  Hne  between  the  f^ 
feeble-minded  and  the  normal  person  has  been  defined  as  that 
degree  below  which  the  possessor  cannot  manage  himself  or  his 
affairs  with  ordinary  prudence.  '  Now  it  is  the  environment 
which  determines  how  he  must  manage  himself  and  what  affairs 
it  is  necessary  for  him  to  control.  In  consequence  of  this  it 
happens  that  a  man  may  be  intelHgent  in  one  environment  and 
unintelligent  in  another.  It  is  this  point  which  Binet  has  illus- 
trated by  saying  "A  French  peasant  may  be  normal  in  a  rural 
community  but  feeble-minded  in  Paris."  The  peasant  Hfe  is 
simple;  the  environment  requires  Httle  adjustment.  In  Paris,  y 
it  is  different,  all  is  compHcated  and  requires  the  highest 
functioning  of  certain  mental  powers  in  order  to  enable  one 
to  adapt  himself.  That  fact  should  be  borne  in  mind  thruout 
this  discussion. 

We  have  practically  agreed  to  call  all  persons  feeble-minded 
who  do  not  arrive  at  an  intelhgence  higher  than  that  of  the 
twelve  year  old  normal  child.  But  it  must  be  remembered  that 
this  is  merely  an  average,  a  norm  from  which  to  measure  and  by 


574  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

which  we  can  compare  different  individuals.  It  does  not  mean 
and  must  not  be  taken  to  mean,  that  the  person  of  only  ten  year 
old  intelHgence  is  incapable  of  functioning  in  any  environment, 
any  more  than  it  means  that  the  person  of  fourteen  year  old 
intelHgence  is  capable  of  functioning  in  every  environment. 

We  are  already  struggHng  with  the  problem  of  the  defective 
I  delinquent,  the  individual  whom  we  cannot  call  feeble-minded 
according  to  our  present  standard,  and  yet  who  has  not  intelli- 
gence enough  to  function  in  the  environment  in  which  he  finds 
himself.  Such  a  person  very  probably  has  fourteen  or  sixteen 
year  intelhgence,  and  would  function  very  well  in  any  environ- 
ment which  required  no  more  than  that  amount.  But  he  hap- 
pens to  have  been  born  or  has  got  into  an  environment  that 
requires  a  twenty  year  old  intelligence  and  he  therefore  is 
defective. 

The  same  is  true  if  we  go  below  twelve  years.  While  we  say 
that  the  child  of  ten-year  mentality  is  feeble-minded  this  does 
not  mean,  as  has  been  said,  that  he  cannot  function  in  any 
environment.  It  does  mean  that  as  society  is  now  constituted 
in  most  civilized  countries,  he  cannot  function  in  the  ordinary 
group ;  but  he  could  function  in  a  simpler  one.  Since  he  is  in  the 
minority  and  the  majority  has  made  the  environment  what  it 
is,  it  would  seem  to  be  incumbent  upon  the  majority  to  provide 
a  special  environment  for  this  defective  individual,  with  the 
expectation  that  in  that  special  environment  he  would  be  normal 
—  that  is  to  say,  he  would  be  able  to  adapt  himself  and  to  func- 
tion satisfactorily.  This  expectation  has  been  abundantly  ful- 
filled wherever  it  has  been  tried. 

That  there  are  mental  levels  is  thus  seen  to  be  a  tenable 
hypothesis  and  a  possible  key  to  the  situation.  We  shall  return 
to  it  later. 

The  second  of  these  impressions  obtained  from  studying  the 

/  data  relates  to  heredity.     We  have  seen  that  feeble-mindedness 

is  hereditary ;   can  we  say  that  these  grades  or  levels  of  intelli- 


LEVELS  INHERITED  575 

gence  of  which  we  have  spoken  are  directly  transmitted  as  is 
the  color  of  the  eyes  or  the  hair  or  the  stature  of  the  body  ?  It 
is  our  conviction  that,  other  things  being  equal,  the  children  will 
have  at  maturity  the  same  level  of  inteUi gence  as  their  parents. 
This  is  not  a  new  discovery  altho  our  studies  of  feeble-minded- 
ness  have  made  the  whole  matter  clearer  than  perhaps  it  has 
previously  been  made.  Furthermore,  it  must  be  remembered 
that  in  such  matters  we  can  only  speak  in  general  terms.  The 
intellectual  level  is  not  transmitted  from  father  to  son  with  the 
same  accuracy  that  blue  eyes  are  transmitted. 

In  the  case  of  the  intellectual  level  there  are  too  many  factors 
for  us  to  be  able  to  show  a  long  series  of  precisely  the  same 
mentality.  It  is,  however,  perfectly  demonstrable  that  in  a 
general  way  this  principle  holds  true.  One  has  only  to  recall  the 
Edwards  family,  the  Adamses  or  the  Lees,  and  scores  of  others 
to  see  what  this  means.  A  perusal  of  the  biographical  dictionary 
will  show  hundreds  of  families  that  have  maintained  the  same 
high  level  of  intelHgence  thru  many  generations. 

Coming  down  in  the  scale  from  those  who  have  had  a  national 
reputation  we  find  that  what  we  may  call  the  average  citizen  in 
his  community  has  maintained  about  the  same  level  of  intelH- 
gence as  his  father  and  grandfather  who  were  also  men  of  average 
intelligence.  And  it  is  only  by  way  of  completing  the  series 
that  we  find  that  among  the  mental  defectives  of  the  pure  heredi- 
tary type  the  level  is  maintained.  If  the  child  is  a  moron  it  is 
probable  that  the  father  or  the  mother  or  both  were  morons  and 
the  grandparents  also.^  Our  families  show  this  in  many  cases. 

The  same  holds  for  the  high  grade  and  the  middle  grade  imbe- 
ciles. Defectives  of  lower  grade  than  the  middle  imbecile  sel- 
dom marry  and  so  our  series  ceases.  As  explained  in  another 
place,  the  children  of  lower  mentality  than  middle  imbecile,  who 
are  of  hereditary  feeble-minded  origin  have  their  low  grade  of 
mentahty  either  as  the  result  of  added  disease  or  because  they 
are  exceptions  to  the  rule,  and  exceptions  we  cannot  often  explain. 


576  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

The  fact  of  the  transmission  of  the  intellectual  level  becomes 
of  tremendous  significance  in  connection  with  the  social  problems. 
It  is  furthermore  greatly  compHcated  by  the  biological  principle 
that  if  the  condition  is  due  to  disease  or  acquired  in  any  other 
way  it  will  not  be  transmitted.  This  shows  once  more  the 
necessity  for  separating  the  two  elements,  the  one  of  pure  or  in- 
herited feeble-mindedness  from  feeble-mindedness  due  to  some 
extraneous  cause. 
r-~^  A  third  point  of  view,  or  principle,  that  has  come  out  of  the 
jr  study  of  these  defective  minds  is  of  great  importance  for  their 
training.  This  principle  is  somewhat  difficult  to  state  but  may  be 
put  in  this  form  :  a  person  can  never  be  trained  to-do  intelligently 
any  task  the  doing  of  which  requires  intelHgence  of  a  higher  level 
than  that  to  which  he  has  attained.  It  is  difficult  to  realize  that 
fact  when  we  consider  only  normal  people.  The  view  has  been 
strongly  impressed  upon  us  all  that  any  one  can  do  whatever  he 
wills  to  do,  and  we  are  unwilling  to  give  up  that  belief,  in  spite  of 
the  fact  that  we  see  many  persons  attempting  things  that,  as  we 
say,  are  beyond  them.  We  seem  to  be  very  unwilling  to  give  up 
our  prejudice  that  nothing  is  really  beyond  us.  With  the  men- 
tally defective,  however,  this  becomes  easy  to  demonstrate.  The 
histories  of  our  children  as  recorded  give  scores  of  illustrations. 
They  are  in  fact  so  many  tests  of  the  principle.  Our  teachers 
with  a  dehghtful  optimism  have  tried  over  and  over  again  to 
teach  a  child  with  the  mentaHty  of  four  to  do  things  that  can 
only  be  done  by  a  child  of  the  mentality  of  six  or  beyond. 

Before  we  understood  as  much  about  the  defective  mind  as 
we  now  do,  it  was  always  expected  that  many  of  these  children 
could  learn  to  do  much  of  the  ordinary  school  work.  Only  a 
few  years  ago  it  was  a  proud  boast  of  Institutions  for  the 
Feeble-minded  that  their  school  departments  were  exactly  Hke 
the  public  schools.  Every  child  that  gave  any  promise  what- 
ever, that  is  to  say,  who  was  of  the  middle  imbecile  grade  or 
above,  was  sent  to  school  and  every  effort  was  made  to  teach 


TRAINING  LIMITED   BY  THE  LEVEL  577 

him  everything  that  the  school  could  teach.  If  the  reader 
will  turn  back  and  read  the  sentences  that  refer  to  the  accom- 
plishments of  our  children,  taking  them  as  they  are  arranged  by 
mental  age,  he  will  discover  that  all  those  of  any  one  age  have 
had  practically  the  same  history.  They  have  tried  to  do  great 
things;  the  teachers  have  persisted  in  their  efforts  to  teach  all 
things  to  all  children;  gradually  the  higher  things  have  been 
dropped  and  they  finally  settled  down  to  those  attainments  which 
are  commensurate  with  the  mentaUty  of  the  particular  child. 
For  example,  those- who  have  a  mentality  of  10  or  11  are  doing 
some  of  the  finer  and  more  compHcated  work  of  the  Institution, 
in  the  shops,  in  the  household,  on  the  farm  or  in  the  garden. 
Those  who  test  8  or  9  are  doing  the  coarser  work  in  the  shops  or 
on  the  farm  or  at  the  house.  Those  of  mentality  10  or  1 1  have 
learned  to  read  a  Httle.  Those  of  8  or  9  perhaps  got  into  the  First 
or  Second  Reader  but  not  farther.  Those  who  test  6  or  7  have 
never  succeeded  in  getting  anywhere  with  the  three  R's  and  while 
they  did  some  manual  training  and  shop  work  in  school,  after 
leaving  school  they  are  not  found  in  the  shops  but  only  on  the 
farm  and  in  the  house,  there  doing  the  simplest  kind  of  work. 
Altho  every  effort,  born  of  a  blind  devotion  to  an  ideal,  has 
been  made  to  make  these  children  normal,  or  at  least  of 
relatively  high  grade,  it  has  invariably  failed  and  they  have 
learned  nothing  that  is  beyond  their  mental  age. 

This  is  of  profound  significance  for  the  training  of  the  defec- 
tives of  the  future,  and  is  it  of  any  less  importance  in  the  training 
of  normal  children  ?  The  principle  must  be  as  true  of  normals  as 
of  defectives.  It  would  seem  clear  therefore,  that  if  we  would 
train  our  normal  children  wisely  without  wasting  their  time  or 
energy,  or  running  the  risk  of  discouraging  any  further  effort  on 
their  part,  we  ought  to  discover :  first,  how  much  intelHgence 
is  required  for  the  various  subjects  that  we  present  to  them; 
and  secondly,  what  level  of  inteUigence  each  person  has  reached 
so  that  we  may  know  whether  he  is  ready  for  the  proposed 
2  p 


578  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

subject.  This  is  the  next  great  step  in  the  pedagogy  of  the 
future. 

We  may  now  consider  what  bearing  these  principles  would 
have  upon  the  problems  growing  out  of  low  intelligence. 

First  we  have  illustrated  the  'levels  of  intelligence"  view  by 
showing  that  different  levels  of  intelligence  can  function  in  dif- 
ferent environments.  Let  us  now  apply  this  definitely  to  the 
problem  of  caring  for  these  mental  defectives. 

As  we  have  said,  it  is  clear  that  the  people  of  higher  intelH- 
gence  must,  in  self-defense  if  for  no  other  reason,  care  for  those 
whose  intelHgence  is  too  low  to  enable  them  to  care  for  them- 
selves. In  accordance  with  the  principle  we  are  discussing,  this 
can  be  done  by  providing  a  sufficiently  simple  environment. 

The  amount  of  care  and  effort  which  the  majority,  the  so- 
called  intelligent  people,  must  put  forth  in  order  to  create  an  en- 
vironment in  which  these  lower  grades  of  intelligence  can  func- 
tion, varies  inversely  as  that  intelKgence.  Beginning  with  the 
lowest  idiot,  the  environment  consists  of  a  comfortable  home 
with  an  attendant  who  prepares  the  food  and  feeds  it  to  the 
child,  and  performs  whatever  other  labor  is  necessary  to  make 
the  child  comfortable  and  happy  and  his  presence  at  all  tolerable 
to  those  who  thus  care  for  him.  This  we  usually  call  custodial 
care.  ~" 

Those  who  have  the  intelligence  of  a  child  from  three  to  seven, 
technically  called  imbeciles,  also  require  more  or  less  custodial 
care,  altho  the  higher  division  of  them  can  largely  take  care  of 
themselves  so  far  as  the  immediate  necessities  are  concerned. 
They  cannot  provide  for  the  future,  they  cannot  even  meet  the 
little  emergencies  which  arise  in  connection  with  such  occupa- 
tions as  they  may  be  trained  to  perform.  They  must,  therefore, 
have  constant  oversight  and  must  be  given  occupation  which 
presents  as  few  emergencies  as  possible.  The  lower  half  of  this 
group  will  do  Httle  but  sit  around  or  walk  about,  pick  up  sticks, 
carry  stones  or  the  Hke ;  but  the  upper  group,  those  of  mentality 


SIGNIFICANCE  OF  MENTAL  AGE  579 

from  five  to  seven,  may  be  trained  to  simple  occupations  which 
they  can  do  over  and  over  again,  provided,  as  already  said,  there 
is  some  one  having  the  oversight  of  them  to  step  in  whenever  any 
emergency  arises.  Both  of  these,  the  idiot  and  the  imbecile, 
therefore,  require  segregation,  colonization,  where  the  environ- 
ment has  been  simpHfied  to  the  last  degree. 

We  come  now  to  the  moron,  the  child  of  from  eight  to  twelve 
years  of  age  mentally.  We  will  get  an  approximate  idea  of  the 
needs  of  this  grade  of  intelligence  if  we  recall  the  normal  child 
of  from  8  to  12,  for  it  has  been  determined  that  these  defectives 
are  very  like  normal  children  of  the  corresponding  age.  Of 
course  the  similarity  is  not  exact.  His  physical  growth  and 
especially  his  sex  development  react  upon  the  defective  to  give 
him  certain  characteristics  not  found  in  the  normal  of  the  same 
mental  age.  His  environment  and  experience  have  also  made 
some  changes  in  him,  altho  these  changes  are  slight  because 
being  defective  he  does  not  take  in  the  environment  or  profit 
by  experience.  It  must  not  be  forgotten  also  that  the  defec- 
tive child  lacks  energy.  He  is  consequently  not  active,  inquisi- 
tive, interested  like  the  normal.  His  emotional  reactions  are 
less  marked.  In  spite  of  all  these  differences,  to  say  that  he  is 
like  a  normal  child  of  the  same  mental  age  is  to  describe  him 
much  more  accurately  than  can  be  done  in  any  other  way,  and 
to  regard  him  and  treat  him  from  that  standpoint  is  the  most 
useful  and  helpful  as  well  as  the  safest  procedure.  Bearing  these 
two  facts  in  mind  we  can  easily  work  out  the  program  for  this 
grade. 

Let  us  consider  a  mentality  of  10  in  order  to  have  a  specific 
case.  A  normal  boy  of  10  can  learn  to  do  a  great  many 
things  and  can  do  them  well.  There  are  many  things  also  that 
the  normal  boy  could  learn  to  do  that  he  could  not  himself  do 
because  of  physical  inabihty.  That  incapacity  is  not  present 
with  these  defectives,  because  as  we  have  said,  physically  they  are 
Uke  men  and  women.    Therefore  they  have  in  that  way  greater 


58o  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

capacity,  that  is  a  larger  range  of  capacity,  than  the  normal  child 
of  the  same  age.  A  normal  child  of  ten  does  a  great  many  tasks 
for  which  he  has  been  trained.  No  one  expects  a  normal  child 
as  a  rule  to  set  himself  to  work,  to  keep  himself  working,  or  to 
use  good  judgment  in  meeting  the  emergencies  that  arise  in  con- 
nection with  his  work.  This  is  precisely  the  case  with  the  de- 
fective of  this  grade.  All  this  means  that  we  must  provide  him 
with  an  environment  in  which  there  are  few  emergencies,  in  which 
the  activities  call  for  intelhgence  of  his  level  and  may  be  carried 
on  by  habit.  This  may  include  much  of  the  routine  of  farming, 
of  housework,  and  many  kinds  of  simple  industrial  occupations. 
These  pursuits,  however,  require  more  or  less  of  planning  and 
there  are  inevitably  more  or  less  emergencies,  which  means  that 
there  must  always  be  a  person  of  higher  intelligence  who  can  be 
called  upon  at  a  moment's  notice,  who  will  make  the  plans  from 
day  to  day.  This  at  once  suggests  a  farm  colony  and  segregation 
so  much  discussed  at  the  present  time. 

In  this  connection  the  following  industrial  classification  is 
of  interest. 

This  classification  was  made  in  the  following  manner :  Every 
employee  at  the  Vineland  Training  School  was  asked  two 
questions  about  every  child  in  the  Institution,  viz. :  What 
does  he  do  ?  What  can  he  do  ?  The  answers  were  grouped  and 
all  those  of  the  same  mental  age  were  put  together.  From 
the  many  answers  in  each  mental  age  group  an  expression  was 
sought  that  would  describe  the  activities  of  the  group.  The 
children  of  the  same  mental  age  were  often  doing  different 
things,  and  the  grades  sometimes  overlapped.  One  does  not 
expect  a  generalization  to  fit  individual  cases.  On  the 
whole  however  the  classification  has  proved  wonderfully  accu- 
rate. While  some  children  of  five-year  mentality  {e.g.)  are 
doing  better  and  some  worse  the  great  majority  are  doing 
work  that  is  covered  by  the  expression,  ''  Only  simplest 
tasks." 


WHAT  DEFECTIVES  CAN  DO 


S8i 


Industrial  Classification 


Mental 
Age 

Industrial  Capacity 

Grade 

Under 
I  year 

(^)  Helpless,     {b)  Can  walk,      (c)  With  volun- 
tary regard 

Low 

I  yr. 

Feeds  self.     Eats  everything 

Middle 

Idiot 

2  yrs. 

Eats  discriminatingly  (food  from  non-food) 

High 

3    " 

No  work.     Plays  a  little 

Low 

4 

Tries  to  help 

5 

Only  simplest  tasks 

Middle 

Imbecile 

6    " 

Tasks  of  short  duration.     Washes  dishes 

High 

7 

Little  errands  in  the  house.     Dusts 

8    " 

Errands.     Light  work,     flakes  beds 

Low 

9    " 

Heavier  work.     Scrubs.     Mends.    Lays  bricks. 
Cares  for  bath-room 

lO    '' 

Good  institution  helpers.     Routine  work 

Middle 

Moron 

II 

Fairly  compUcated  work  with  only  occasional 
oversight 

High 

12      " 

Uses  machinery.      Can  care  for  animals.     No 
supervision  for  routine  work.     Cannot  plan 

One  important  correction  must  be  mentioned,  as  it  is  a  matter 
that  bears  upon  the  problem  of  the  feeble-minded.  We  soon 
found  when  we  attempted  to  group  our  cases  that  those  chil- 
dren who  were  over  20  years  of  age  chronologically  were  a  dis- 
turbing factor  in  our  plan.  They  could  not  be  grouped  with 
the  others  of  the  same  mental  age.  Some  study  of  the  situa- 
tion showed  that  these  older  persons  were  doing  tasks  that 
seemingly  required  a  higher  mentality,  but  they  were  doing 
them  not  intelligently  but  automatically,  that  is  after  long  train- 


582  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

ing  and  drill  they  had  learned  to  go  thru  the  motions  in  a  more 
or  less  efficient  manner. 

This  well  illustrates  the  way  in  which  feeble-minded  persons 
sometimes  seem  to  have  an  intelligence  beyond  their  mental  age. 
The  man  who  is  40  years  of  age,  but  of  ten-year  mentality  has 
had  30  years  in  which  to  learn  not  only  more  ten-year  accom- 
pHshments  than  any  one  normal  boy  of  ten  could  acquire,  but 
also  he  has  had  time  to  learn  to  do  by  habit  and  drill  many 
things  that  he  cannot  possibly  understand.  In  making  the 
foregoing  classification  we  threw  out  all  cases  who  were  over 
20  years  of  age. 

Since  we  have  begun  to  reahze  the  enormous  number  of  de- 
fectives we  are  bewildered  at  the  thot  of  segregating  them  all. 
There  are  between  300,000  and  400,000  feeble-minded  persons 
in  the  United  States.  That  would  mean  1000  colonies  of  300  each, 
or  300  colonies  of  1000  each  —  from  2  to  30  institutions  in  each 
state  according  to  the  population.  In  view  of  such  an  enormous 
undertaking  we  naturally  look  about  to  see  if  anything  else  is 
possible.  Under  the  present  social  conditions  it  is  hard  to  think 
of  any  other  treatment  as  being  adequate  to  the  situation. 

But  when  the  mountain  would  not  come  to  Mahomet,  Mahomet 
went  to  the  mountain.  If  we  cannot  remove  the  mental  defective 
from  society  to  a  colony,  we  can  at  least  colonize  him  where  he 
is  and  possibly  this  may  be  made  quite  as  satisfactory  as  the  other 
plan.  Indeed  it  requires  only  a  Httle  optimism  to  believe  that 
it  may  be  better  than  the  other.  One  of  the  main  reasons  that 
the  moron  is  so  dangerous  under  present  conditions  is  that  he  is 
not  understood ;  he  is  assumed  to  be  normal,  he  is  treated  like 
a  normal  person  and  is  expected  to  react  like  a  normal  person. 
There  is  no  evidence  to  prove  that  the  feeble-minded  person 
taken  in  the  beginning,  understood  and  properly  treated,  be- 
comes vicious,  bad  or  dangerous.  On  the  contrary  there  is  much 
to  prove  that  he  is  not  vicious  ;  he  may  be  made  so  by  mistreat- 
ment but  he  is  not  so  naturally.      A  menace  to  society  ?     Yes 


MISTREATMENT  583 

when  mistreated,  when  not  cared  for,  when  allowed  or  compelled 
to  bear  the  burdens  of  intelligent  people.  If  a  nine  year  old  child 
is  left  alone  in  a  house  with  fire  and  matches  and  he  sets  fire  to 
the  house,  —  who  is  to  blame,  the  child  or  the  people  who  left 
him  in  such  a  position  ?  In  precisely  the  same  way  the  feeble- 
minded in  the  world  to-day  are  a  menace  to  society,  because  we 
have  not  understood  them,  because  we  have  placed  them  in  an 
environment  where  they  easily  go  wrong.  But  cared  for  and 
protected,  as  all  wise  parents  care  for  their  children,  these  chil- 
dren need  be  no  more  of  a  menace  than  other  children  are. 

Suppose,  for  the  sake  of  making  the  matter  clear,  that  every 
normal  person  recognized  these  defectives,  that  a  moron  as  he 
grows  up  is  recognized  as  a  moron ;  altho  full  size  for  a  20  year 
old  boy,  with  a  physique  as  healthy  and  comely  as  that  of  the 
average,  all  realize  that  he  has  a  mind  of  8  or  10.  What  will  this 
changed  attitude  or  condition  mean  ?  In  the  first  place  it  will 
mean  that  we  will  teach  him  in  school  only  those  things  that  a 
ten  year  old  child  can  learn.  This  will  leave  him  with  a  minimum 
of  the  three  R's  and  a  maximum  of  manual  and  industrial  train- 
ing. Suppose  he  is  ready  to  go  to  work  ;  he  seeks  employment ; 
he  thinks  he  would  like  to  run  an  elevator  —  Will  any  one  employ 
him  ?  Does  any  one  employ  a  ten  year  old  boy  to  run  an  ele- 
vator? Why  not?  Not  because  he  has  not  the  strength,  not 
because  of  the  Child  Labor  Law,  but  because  a  ten  year  old  boy 
is  known  not  to  have  sufficient  judgment  to  manage  a  machine 
where  a  shght  error  might  be  so  serious. 

If  it  is  asked  how  the  employer  is  going  to  know  that  this 
likely-looking  man  of  adult  years  and  normal-looking  physique 
has  only  the  mentality  of  a  10  year  old  child,  the  answer  is  at 
hand.  There  must  be  a  registration  bureau  where  the  grade  of 
intelligence  of  all  such  persons  is  recorded.  Until  some  other 
agency  is  estabHshed  for  this  purpose  the  public  schools  must 
serve  in  this  capacity.  Under  our  compulsory  education  laws 
every  child  must  attend  school.     Our  school  officers  are  already 


584  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

discovering  that  for  their  own  efficiency  they  must  determine  the 
mentality  of  their  dull  children,  and  must  provide  for  them  such 
training  as  they  are  able  to  take.  They  will  record  the  degree 
of  efficiency  in  terms  of  mental  capacity.  But  what  will  impel 
the  employer  to  seek  the  information  that  he  can  obtain  from 
this  school  system  ?  In  many  states  the  employers  already  have 
the  strongest  kind  of  motive  to  seek  this  information.  This  is 
in  the  Employers'  Liability  Law.  Employers  will  be  quick  to 
learn  that  there  are  these  defective  persons  and  that  the  danger 
of  employing  them  in  complicated  work  is  very  great.  A  man 
who  employs  a  mental  defective  to  run  an  elevator  will  sooner 
or  later  be  compelled  to  pay  for  injuries  that  result  from 
such  a  boy's  lack  of  judgment.  He  will  then  seek  for  the 
information  that  will  protect  him;  and  will  act  upon  that 
information. 

Therefore,  if  our  20  year  old  boy  sought  the  job  of  running 
an  elevator  but  was  known  to  have  only  ten-year  intelKgence,  he 
would  not  secure  the  job.  He  would  however  secure  such  a  job 
as  a  ten  year  old  boy  could  do.  Besides  getting  employment 
that  fitted  his  intelligence  he  would  be  treated  as  a  10  year  old 
child,  he  would  be  guarded  and  protected  from  dangers  of  all 
kinds  by  all  persons  who  had  intelligence.  With  this  protection 
born  of  an  understanding  of  his  condition  he  would  get  along  very 
well;  having  been  properly  trained  as  a  young  boy  he  would 
probably  be  nearly  if  not  quite  self-supporting.  If  not  quite 
self-supporting  he  would  be  a  ward  of  the  state  and  whatever  he 
lacked  of  enough  to  support  himself  would  be  made  up  to  him  in 
the  proper  way. 

This  could  easily  be  arranged  thru  the  Police  Department 
or  the  Probation  system,  or  the  Department  of  Charities,  and 
would  be  justified  on  the  understanding  that  if  this  were  not  done 
the  individual  would  become  a  pauper  or  a  criminal  and  cost 
society  vastly  more  because  then  his  entire  support  would  be  at 
public  expense.     Thus  the  problem  would  be  largely  solved. 


RECOGNIZE  THE  MORON  585 

In  a  goodly  percentage  of  the  cases  he  would  live  out  his  life 
pleasantly,  happily,  and  be  relatively  useful. 

Our  first  problem  then  is  to  recognize  the  moron.  By  suitable 
mental  examination  they  must  be  discovered,  and  discovered  as 
early  as  possible.  This  is  best  done  in  pubhc  schools.  If  a 
child  is  backward  he  must  be  carefully  watched.  If  it  is  only  a 
temporary  matter  or  one  due  to  physical  causes  which  can  be 
removed,  he  will  eventually  be  normal.  But  if  he  is  really  men- 
tally defective  it  will  soon  show  and  as  soon  as  it  is  determined 
his  treatment  must  begin.  It  is  then  a  matter  of  education,  of 
training.  We  must  learn  what  this  mental  defective  can  do, 
what  kind  of  training  is  profitable  to  him.  At  present  the  in- 
dications are  that  comparatively  few  people  who  are  mentally 
defective  are  ever  able  to  learn  to  read,  write  and  count,  or  in 
short  to  do  the  ordinary  school  work.  It  is  even  questionable 
whether  those  who  are  able  to  do  this  after  an  enormous  effort 
ought  to  be  compelled  to  make  the  effort ;  whether  their  efforts 
cannot  be  better  utilized  in  other  directions  which  will  make  them 
more  useful  and  happier. 

We  are  beginning  to  learn,  not  only  how  to  recognize  them,  but 
how  to  determine  what  degree  of  mentahty  they  possess,  or 
where  in  the  scale  of  development  their  arrest  has  taken  place. 
Careful  studies  of  this  problem  will  show  us  the  kind  of  training 
that  is  adapted  to  each  one.  Trained  along  these  fines  from 
early  childhood,  kept  from  learning  vicious  ways  and  bad  habits, 
they  remain  innocent  children  with  much  of  the  naivete  and 
attractiveness  of  normal  children.  They  are  simply  perpetual 
children.  They  may  five  to  be  sixty  years  of  age  and  stifi 
remain  the  same  childlike  persons  that  they  have  been  for  fifty 
years. 

There  are  many  things  that  they  can  be  trained  to  do 
with  sufficient  proficiency  to  pay  for  their  cost  of  maintenance. 
Here  then,  is  perhaps  the  solution  of  this  part  of  the  problem 
—  early   recognition,  careful   determination   of  the   degree   of 


586  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

defect  and  careful  training  fitted  to  make  them  happy,  useful, 
and  self-supporting  under  direction. 

It  will  be  seen  that  what  we  have  said  here  is  based  upon  the 
^view  that  these  mental  defectives  are  cases  of  arrest  of  develop- 
ment and  they  are  like  normal  children  of  the  age  at  which  their 
arrest  takes  place ;  and  that  our  safest  guide  in  the  treatment  of 
these  cases  comes  from  a  consideration  of  the  wise  treatment  for 
the  normal  child  of  that  age.  That  this  is  a  correct  view  is 
becoming  more  and  more  evident  every  day.  The  more  experi- 
ments and  tests  are  made  and  the  more  we  study  the  problem  of 
the  defective  the  more  we  discover  and  become  convinced  of  this 
truth. 

The  foregoing  is  not  proposed  for  all  mental  defectives.  It  is 
offered  as  a  possible  help  in  view  of  the  practical  impossibility 
of  segregating  the  large  number  of  defectives  that  we  are  finding 
in  every  community. 

Suppose  now  we  go  back  to  the  general  question  —  what  shall 
we  do  with  people  of  low  intelligence  ?  Colonize  them,  says  one ; 
sterilize  them,  says  another ;  educate  them,  says  a  third.  Each 
plan  has  its  advocates  and  each  has  its  difficulties.  The  first  two 
seem  to  assume  that  the  people  of  low  intelligence  are  a  different 
group  and  should  be  treated  in  a  very  special  way  ;  that  those  of 
us  who  are  pleased  to  style  ourselves  intelligent  have  the  right 
to  deprive  these  people  of  something  that  we  enjoy.  The  third 
plan  suggests  that  these  people  are  our  equals  in  some  things  and 
that  they  can  be  educated  as  we  have  been  educated. 

It  will  be  well  to  examine  what  facts  we  have  before  coming  to 
a  decision.  Our  facts  at  most  are  too  few  to  warrant  us  in  neg- 
lecting any.  To  begin  with,  no  student  of  the  problem  will 
admit  that  these  people  constitute  a  different  species  of  humanity. 
Some  inteUigence  is  possessed  by  all  unless  possibly  the  very 
lowest.  It  is  a  question  of  degree  and  a  question  of  the  need  that 
~~^e  individual  has  of  intelligence,  in  other  words  of  his  environ- 
^  ment.  If  an  individual  cannot  adapt  himself  to  his  environment, 


COLONIZATION  587 

can  we  not  adapt  the  environment  to  him?  ''This  is  what 
colonization  does,"  says  the  advocate  of  this  method.  In  theory 
this  is  true,  in  practice  it  is  also  often  true,  but  not  always.  With 
certain  high  grades  and  under  certain  conditions  there  is  an  ele- 
ment of  restraint,  the  colony  becomes  practically  a  prison ;  only 
under  the  wisest  management,  by  the  most  broad-minded  policy 
can  this  element  of  restraint  be  kept  out  of  the  mind  of  the  high 
grade  defective.  And  it  is  doubtful  if  it  ever  can  be  kept  entirely 
away  from  the  highest  grade.  Suppose  then  we  are  content  to 
colonize  as  many  as  can  be  made  contented  in  the  colony,  what 
of  the  others?  It  is  for  these  that  sterilization  is  supposed  by 
many  to  be  the  panacea.  But  sterilization  seems  only  to  apply 
to  a  narrow  zone;  many  of  these  high  grades  are  regarded  as 
being  on  the  border  line,  where  it  is  of  doubtful  justice  to  take  this 
action.     Many  other  objections  are  urged. 

We  may  accept  the  verdict  that  the  facts,  particularly  those 
that  are  set  forth  in  this  study,  show  that  we  must  colonize  as  / 
many  of  the  feeble-minded  as  we  possibly  can,  that  we  must^'^ 
steriHze  some  and  then  we  discover  that  we  have  only  tithed  the 
problem,  we  have  not  solved  it.     We  still  have  left  one  expedient, 
that  of  educating  them.     ''But,"  says  some  one,  "they  cannot  be 
educated,  they  have  not  mentahty  enough  to  take  an  education."^ 
That  depends  upon  our  definition  of  education. 

The  group  that  cannot  be  colonized  and  many  of  those  indeed 
who  will  eventually  be  colonized,  and  the  group  where  we  are 
in  doubt  about  the  propriety  of  steriKzing  can  be  trained  to  a  rela- 
tively high  degree  in  certain  directions.  But  again,  says  some 
one,  they  will  always  be  vicious  and  dangerous  and  a  menace 
to  society.  There  are,  however,  no  facts  to  prove  this.  That 
may  sound  strange  in  view  of  what  has  already  been  said  in  this 
volume.  But  it  must  be  remembered  that  we  have  studied 
people,  who  in  addition  to  their  feeble  minds,  have  had  a  bad 
environment,  have  been  misunderstood  and  mistreated. 

With  a  better  comprehension  of  the  nature  of  these  persons, 


588  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

'^  with  wiser  methods  of  training  in  a  suitable  environment,  the 
''  viciousness  that  we  sometimes  see  will  seldom,  if  ever,  develop. 

Only  one  thing  remains  to  be  considered,  their  propagation. 
We  have  said  that  no  feeble-minded  person  should  marry  or 
become  a  parent.  From  the  standpoint  of  an  ideal  eugenics  that 
cannot  be  denied.  But  the  ideal  and  the  practical  are  seldom  the 
same.  We  must  aim  at  the  ideal  but  take  what  we  can  get.  The 
feeble-minded  will  continue  to  become  parents  for  many  years  to 
come.  Let  us  face  the  fact  and  make  the  best  of  it.  Does  not 
our  horror  at  the  mating  of  the  feeble-minded  and  the  production 
of  more  feeble-minded  offspring  arise  largely  from  our  experiences 
with  them  up  to  the  present  time,  and  is  this  not  complicated 
by  the  bad  environment  and  mistreatment  of  w^hich  we  have 
spoken?  When  we  have  learned  to  recognize  these  people  and 
learned  how  to  treat  them,  how  to  train  them,  will  not  the  situa- 
tion be  entirely  changed  ?  May  it  not  be  possible  that  we  will 
find  use  for  all  these  people  of  moderate  intelKgence,  and  that  the 
production  of  so  many  high  grade  feeble-minded  is  only  the  pro- 
duction of  so  many  more  people  who  are  able  and  wilKng  to  do 
much  of  the  drudgery  of  the  world,  which  other  people  will  not 
do. 

This  is  not  to  be  understood  as  advocating  such  a  procedure. 
The  point  is  made  merely  by  way  of  emphasizing  the  fact  that 
when  we  shall  have  come  to  understand  these  people  and  to  treat 
them  in  accordance  with  their  mental  condition,  their  low  in- 
telligence, that  a  large  part  of  our  problem  will  have  been  solved 
and  that  many  of  the  evils  that  we  now  complain  of  will  not 
reappear. 

We  have  said  that  in  spite  of  all  of  our  efforts,  after  we  have 
colonized  all  that  we  can,  these  people  will  become  parents ;  so 
f^r  as  we  can  see  there  is  only  one  way  to  obviate  it,  that  is  by  a 
very  general  practice  of  sterilization.  If  the  process  of  vasectomy 
proves  as  satisfactory  as  its  advocates  believe,  it  may  be  that 
we  shall  ultimately  be  willing  to  sterilize  all  of  these  border- 


RfiSUMf:  589 

line  cases,  and  then,  there  will  be  no  longer  any  objection 
to  their  marrying.  Indeed  it  has  already  been  proposed  more 
than  once,  that  when  a  feeble-minded  person  wishes  to  marry 
he  shall  be  told  that,  if  he  is  wiUing  to  submit  to  vasectomy, 
a  marriage  certificate  will  be  granted  and  he  may  enter  upon  a 
career  where  he  will  be  a  husband  but  not  a  father. 

Such  a  procedure  may  have  many  objections  and  may  be  re- 
pugnant to  many  of  us.  Nevertheless,  a  broad-minded  view  of 
the  problem,  a  willingness  to  consider  all  possible  solutions,  re- 
quires that  this  suggestion  should  be  considered  in  the  light  of 
conditions  as  they  will  be  when  our  fundamental  requirements 
are  achieved,  namely,  that  the  feeble-minded  are  recognized  and 
their  degree  of  mentahty  and  responsibility  is  understood  and 
they  are  treated  in  the  manner  that  they  require. 

For  the  sake  of  clearness  let  us  repeat  some  of  the  points  of 
this  Chapter.  ^^^ 

First :    the  mere  recognition  that  there  is  a  problem  of  the  "  . 
feeble-minded  will  go  a  long  way  toward  its  solution. 

Second :  a  large  part  of  the  mental  defectives  who  cannot  be 
segregated  may  be  reasonably  and  safely  cared  for  in  their  homes, 
when  we  learn  to  recognize  them  for  what  they  are,  children  in 
intelligence,  tho  men  and  women  in  body. 

Third :  we  must  increase  our  efforts  to  segregate  as  many  as 
possible,  because  for  a  long  time  to  come  there  will  be  a  larger 
number  who  need  colonization,  than  we  can  possibly  care  for. 

Fourth :  we  must  have  sterilization  wisely  and  carefully  prac- 
ticed for  the  solution  of  many  individual  problems  that  are  not 
reached  by  any  other  method. 

In  conclusion,  we  believe  that  we  have  demonstrated  that 
feeble-mindedness  is  sufficiently  prevalent  to  arouse  the  interest 
and  attract  the  attention  of  all  thotful  people  who  are  interested 
in  social  welfare ;  that  it  is  mostly  hereditary ;  that  it  underlies 
all  our  social  problems ;  that  because  of  these  facts  it  is  worthy 
the  attention  of  our  most  thotful  statesmen  and  social  leaders ; 


590  FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

that  much  of  the  time  and  money  and  energy  now  devoted  to 
other  things  may  be  more  wisely  spent  in  investigating  the 
problem  of  f eeble-mindedness ;  and  that  since  feeble-minded- 
ness  is  in  all  probability  transmitted  in  accordance  with  the 
Mendelian  Law  of  heredity,  the  way  is  open  for  eugenic 
procedure  which  shall  mean  much  for  the  future  welfare  of  the 
race. 


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R.  L.  Myers  &  Co.,  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  1900. 

32.  Walter,  Herbert  E.     Genetics.     An  Introduction  to  the  Study  of 

Heredity.    The  Macmillan  Company,  1913. 


u. 


^t 


INDEX 


Accident  Group,  defined,  47. 
Accidental  cases,  defined,  438. 
Accidents  before  or  at  birth,  448-455. 

after  birth,  455-460. 
Acquired      character,    non-transmissibility 

of,  559- 
Acromegaly,  429. 
Admission  blanks,  23. 

Age  of  father,  effect  of,  on    mentality  of 
children,  178. 

age    of    parents    in    Mongolian    cases, 
451-452. 
Alcohol,  281. 

in  the  father,  479. 

in  the  mother,  cases,  476. 

doubles  the   number   of   feeble-minded 
children  in  a  family,  490. 

and  tuberculosis,  remarkable  case,  209. 

and  weak  will,  12. 
Alcoholic,  means  drunkard,  480. 

man  reformed,  instance,  13. 
Alcoholics,  percentage  feeble-minded,  12. 
Alcoholism,  10. 

at  the  time  of  conception,  474-475, 

as  a  cause  discussed,  474-492. 
Almshouse  case,  58,  245,  312. 

came  from,  292. 

Gertie's  mother  in,  352. 

in  Poland,  431. 
Almshouses,  inmates  mentally  defective,  17. 
Ament,  defined,  3-4. 
Animation  at  birth,  deficient,  411. 
Arithmetic,  samples  of  work  in,  103-104. 
Arrest  of  development  and  Mendelism,  546. 
Ataxia,  case  of,  188,  197,  390. 
Autobiography  of  Case  5,  58. 


B 

Backward    child,    proved 

minded,  172,  183. 
Beri-beri,  375. 
Billikens'  case,  382. 

2Q 


to    be    feeble- 


Binet,  Alfred,  19. 

quoted,  573. 

age  of  our  children,  440. 
Binet-Simon    Measuring   Scale    of   Intelli- 
gence, 4,  48. 

differentiates     insanity     from     feeble- 
mindedness, 504. 
Binet  tests,  typical  answers,  51,  112,  141, 
146,  154,  181,  193,  205,  213,  220,  233. 

seven  on  same  case,  183. 
Biological  problem,  the,  20. 
Birth,  difficult,  354,  356. 
Bite  of  spider,  assigned  cause,  268. 
"Black  Dutch,"  120. 
Blackwell's  Island,  243, 
Blindness,  521-522. 

8  cases  on  one  chart,  160. 

7  cases  on  one  chart,  193. 

2  cases  on  one  chart,  86,  232. 
Blood  poisoning,  suffered  from,  354. 
Blue  baby,  lead  poisoning,  322,  365. 
Brachydactyhsm,  185,  238. 
Brain  disease,  indications  of,  286. 
Bridgman,  Dr.  Olga,  8,  14. 
Bright's  Disease  in  grandparent,  297,  339, 

344,  409. 
Burt,  Cyril,  quoted,  556. 
Button,  swallowed,  cause  of  mental  defect, 
266. 


Cancer,  in  two  generations,  302,  325,  329, 

351- 
Carrier  of  defect,  292. 
Carson,  Dr.  J.  C,  450. 
Castle,  W.  E.,  quoted,  545. 
Castle  Garden,  234. 
Cataracts,  329. 

congenital,  328. 

double  congenital,  372. 

hereditar>',  329. 
Cause,  no  assignable,  405. 

assigned,  defined,  55. 
Causes,  435. 

accepted  uncritically,  436. 


593 


594 


INDEX 


Causes,  illogical  conclusions  as  to,  435,  449. 

rival,  447, 

assigned  by  parents  or  physicians,  436- 
437- 
Cephalhematoma,  358. 
Cerebral  tumor,  253. 
Chandelier,  struck  head  against,  354. 
Charities,  Department  of,  584. 
Charity,  objects  of,  53. 
Chart,  exceptionally  large,  4  sections,  159- 
161. 

6  sections,  11 8-1 20. 

10  sections,  128-131. 

3  sections,  251, 

average  number  of  persons  per,  466. 
Charts,  number  of,  in  each  group,  466. 

classification  of,  47. 

field  workers',  25. 

total  individuals  on,  466. 
Chicken-pox,  case  of,  348. 
Children  of  alcoholic  parents,  474-492. 

illegitimate,  499. 

number  of,  per  mating,  471. 

two   from    a   family   in    the   Training 
School,  51,  78,  82,  133,  196,  226,  227, 
23s,  243,  280. 
Chromosomes,  defined,  535. 
Classification,  an  industrial,  581. 
Cleft  palate,  91,  304. 
Club-foot,  case  of,  322. 
Colonization,  566,  582,  587,  588. 
Colony,  the,  a  prison,  587. 
Colored  children  in  a  white  family,  550. 
Colored  girl,  an  attractive  little,  384. 

case  of,  219. 
Conditions  associated  with  feeble-minded- 

ness,  473,  532. 
Consanguinity,  523-525. 

list  of  charts  showing,  523. 

remarkable  case  of,  368, 
Convulsions  due  to  whipping,  382. 
Corner  family,  the,  40. 
Correspondence,  clandestine,  56. 
Cretinism,  case  of,  361. 
Cretinoid  type,  case  of,  410. 
Crime,  the  problem  of,  6. 
Crimes  of  feeble-minded,  g. 
Criminal,  punishment  of,  7. 

what  is  to  be  done  with  the,  569. 
Criminality,  list  of  charts  showing,  516. 

depends  upon  two  factors,  515. 

and  feeble-mindedness,  514-518. 

not  hereditary,  8. 
Criminals,  per  cent  defective,  7. 
Cripples,  hereditary,  271. 


Data,  incomplete,  21. 

manner  of  obtaining,  22. 

reliabihty  of,  21. 
Davenport,  Dr.  C.  B.,  460,  538. 
Deaf,  cases  bom,  389. 

our  children,  362,  421. 
Deafness,  521-523. 

2  cases  on  one  chart,  99,  245,  253,  278, 
331,  388. 
Defect,  not  apparent  until  ages  7-10,  184. 
Defective  delinquent,  problem  of  the,  574. 
Defectives  number  of,  in  the  United  States, 
582. 

recognized,  583. 
Delirium  tremens,  335,  445. 
Deprivation,  case  backward  by,  384. 
Determiners  in  the  human  chromosome,  540. 
Diagnosis,  wrong,  32. 

Diagram  showing  the  six  possible  matings, 
549- 

showing  effect  of  alcohol,  485. 
Diseases  associated  with  feeble-mindedness, 

473. 
Drawings,  79,  84,  in. 

merry-go-roimd,  107. 

by  a  low  imbecile,  316. 

by  a  cretin,  362. 

by  a  case  of  dementia  praecox,  424. 
Drug  fiend,  258. 

Drunkard,    the   children   of   the   habitual, 
475- 

what  is  to  be  done  with,  570. 
Drunkenness,  10. 
Duplex,  the  term  defined,  537. 
"Died  in  infancy"  includes  all  under  two 

years,  471. 
Dwarfness,  cases  of,  52,  205,  246,  387. 
Dynamometer,   a  measure  of  intelligence, 
509. 


Echolalia,  inclined  to,  386,  397. 
Education,  not  mentality  enough  to  take, 

587. 
Emerick,  Dr.  E.  J.,  550. 
Employers'  Liability  Law,  584. 
Environment,  effect  of,  85,  89,  116,  554. 
Environment  determines,  573. 

in  relation  to  feeble-mindedness,  11. 

must  be  simplified  for  defectives,  578, 
587. 
Epilepsy,  and  the  Binet  Test,  513. 

determining,  30. 


INDEX 


595 


Epilepsy,  feeble-mindedness  and,  512-514. 

list  of  charts  showing,  514. 
Epileptic,  Julius  Caesar,  29. 

Napoleon,  29. 

our  children,  168,  227,  248,  257,  267,  273, 
27s,  276,  309,  314,  335,  350,  395,  401. 

St.  Paul,  29. 
Eugenics,  558. 

case  of  non-eugenic  matings,  204. 
Eye  defect,  208,  321. 


"F?",  meaning  of,  22. 
Fall,  severe,  possible  cause  of  defect,  401. 
Fecundity  of  feeble-minded  women,  472. 
Feeble-minded,  both  parents,  561. 

vicious,  a  menace  to  society,  582. 

children   in   second   marriage,   none  in 
first,  185,  209,  292. 

limits  of,  573. 

children     of     feeble-minded     parents, 
exceptions,  95,  116,  129,  145,  235. 

per  cent  of,  in  institutions,  528. 

defined,  3,  4. 

sex  of,  467. 
Feeble-mindedness,  diseases  associated  with. 
473-532. 

and  criminaUty,  8. 

and  alcohol,  10. 

and  white  slavery,  13. 

not  detected  at  first  examination,  32. 

hereditary,  at  the  basis  of  some  prob- 
lems, 572. 

possible  cases  of  sporadic,  215,  460-462. 
Feet,  malformed,  223,  322. 

toes  webbed,  238,  312. 
Field  work,  24. 
Field  workers,  work  of,  tested,  30. 

qualifications  of,  23-24. 

employing,  23. 
Field  Worker's,  sample  report,  40-45. 

report,  293,  352. 
Fingers    and    toes,    imperfect,    shown    in 

second  marriage  not  in  first,  185. 
Fishermen,  return  of  the,  475. 
Fistula,  recto-vaginal,  227. 
Friedreich's  ataxia,  case  of,  337,  445. 
Fright,  defect  caused  by,  312. 
Frightened  by  being  held  against  a  piece  of 
ftir,  313. 

G 

Genius,  2. 

and  feeble-mindedness,  510-511. 
and  insanity,  511. 


Geography  studied,  105,  427. 
Germ  cell,  the,  559. 

plasm,  is  it  affected,  446. 
German,  studied,   283. 
Goitre,  527. 

cases  of,  100,  122,  305,  310,  329,  433. 
Griffiths,  Miss  Jane,  25. 
Grip,  defect  noticeable  after  the  attack  of, 
297,  306. 

at  foin:  months,  305. 
Groups,  fundamental.    No.    N,  F,  etc.,  in 
each.  Table,  467. 

six  fundamental,  47. 


H 


Habit,  vs.  weak  will,  12. 

and  intemperance,   12. 
Hack  Tuke,  quoted,  435. 
Hair-cut,  frightened  at  the  time  of  the  first, 

230. 
Hair  long,  born  with,  361. 
Handwriting,  sample  of,  93,  107,  149,  151, 

162,  406. 
Healy,  Dr.  William,  327. 
Heart  trouble,  three  generations  of,  314. 

hereditary,  320. 
Hereditary  feeble-mindedness  plus  disease, 

439. 
Hereditary  Group,  438. 

defined,  47,  437. 
"Hexen  Kuche,"  293. 
Histor>'  studied,  427. 
Horse,  kicked  by,  336. 
Hot  weather,  crazy  from,  295. 
Head,  large,  three  generations  of,  36. 
Hydrocephalus,  cases  of,  300,  391,  394,  426. 


Idiots,  defined,  3,  4. 

Idiot  savant,  108,  42A.  4.6';^ 

Illegitimate  children,  499. 

Imbecile,  defined,  3,  4. 

Immigration  officers  passed,  74,   122,  201, 

234,  238,  253,  259,  290,  375,  380,  431. 

432. 
Inmioral  family,  remarkable,  215. 
Incapacity,  5. 

Incest,  case  of,  118,  158,  191,  214,  343. 
Incorrigible,   54,   239. 
Indian  blood,  219. 
Industrial  classification,  580. 
Infantile  paralysis,  case  of,  379,  386. 
Information,  sources  of,  49. 


596 


INDEX 


Injured  in  utero,  337. 

Insane,  not  feeble-minded  case,  423. 

Insane,  drawings  of,  423. 

sent  to  Hospital  for,  155,  296,  419. 
Insanity,  and  feeble-mindedness,  504-510. 

and  genius,  511. 

case  of  adolescent,  58. 

"Memoranda"  by  case  of,  60-70. 

determining,  30. 

indicated  by  Binet  Test,  154,  296,  505. 

list  of  charts  showing,  506-507. 

manic-depressive,  4th  attack,  433. 

shows  symptoms  of,  122,  165,  255,  286, 
288,  307,  328,  339'  360,  385,  397- 
Instinct,  maternal,  utilized,  186. 

sexual,  under-developed,  497. 
Institutions,  in  other,  527-528. 

reformatory,  per  cent  defective  in,  9. 
Instrumental    delivery,    cause    of     mental 
defect,  360. 

deliveries,  no.  of  cases  due  to,  449. 
Instruments,   use  of,   as  cause  of  mental 

defect,  447. 
Intelligence  beyond  mental  age,  582. 

difference  in,  of  brother  and  sister,  81. 

general,  557. 

grades  of,  2. 

levels  of,  576. 

transmitted,  438. 
Intemperance,  10. 
Ireland  quoted  on  alcohol,  475. 


J 


James,  William,  quoted,  557. 
Japan,  born  in,  375. 


Kallikak  Family,  Case  gi  related  to  the,  204. 
Kallikak,  Deborah,  95. 

Family,  quotation  from,  28. 
Kite,  Elizabeth  S.,  24. 


Laitinen,  M. D.,  Professor  Taaz,  quoted,  487. 
Lameness,  inherited,  143. 
Lazy  boy,  the,  17. 
Lead  poisoning,  321,  365,  444. 
Letters  of  children,  sample,  87,  132, 137,  141, 
146,  152,  154,  286,  357.  377,  378,  392, 
406,  422. 

from  a  mother,  71,  265. 

love,  57. 

of  Wm.  T.,  79. 


about  party,  319. 

to  Santa  Claus,  sample,  73,  75,  80,  83, 
93,  158. 
Letters  used  around  the  squares  and  circles, 

meaning  of,  49. 
Levels  of  intelligence,  572. 

transmitted,  575. 
Liquid  oozed  from  head,  333. 
Longevity,  case  of,  429. 


M 


Marasmus   assigned    as    cause    of    mental 
defect,  410. 

Marriage  of  feeble-minded  persons,  561. 
allowable,  588. 

Marriages  under  varying   conditions,  561- 
563. 

Masturbation  assigned  as  cause  of  mental 
defect,  423. 

Matings,  types  of,  used  in  study  of  Mendel- 
ism,  551. 

Measurement  of  twins,  525. 

Melancholia,  inherited,  368. 

Mendelian  law,  and  human  heredity,  548- 
557. 
and  our  results,  553-556. 

Mendelism,  the  explanation,  534. 

Mendel's  Law,  533-538- 

recessive  character  of  feeble-mindedness 
shown  by  charts  178,  i8q,  204,  260, 

Meningitis,  457-460. 

cases,  390-404. 

morbidity  of,  457. 
Mental  age,  defined,  48. 

of  defectives  and  normals,  579. 

in  relation  to   feeble-mindedness,  440- 
443. 

intelligence  beyond,  582. 
Mental  levels,  572. 
Mental  defectives,  problem  of  caring  for, 

578-588. 
Mentality,  determined,  27-30. 
Merry-go-round,  plan  for,  107. 
MicrocephaHc,  349,  421. 
Microphthalmic  eyes,  case  of,  207. 
Migraine,  526. 

cases  of,  246,  252,  269,  289,  300,  323, 
340,  346,  349. 
Miscarriage  caused  by  drugs,  271,  356,  360. 
Mongolian  cases,  366-374. 

Group  defined,  450. 

in  collateral  branch  of  defective  family, 
278. 


INDEX 


597 


Mongolian,  type,   congenital  but   not   he- 
reditary, 368. 

type,  other  defectives  in  family,  371. 

type,  revised  chart,  31-32. 
Mongolians,  distribution  of  ages  of,  452. 

mentality  of,  453. 

ages  of  parents  of,  452. 
Moore,  Miss  Maude,  25. 
Moron,  the,  579. 

defined,  4. 

recognized,  583-585- 

difficulty  of  determining,  30. 
Morons,  heritability  of,  443. 

percentage  of,  6. 
Mother  instinct  aroused,  186. 
Music,  sensitive  to,  case,  402. 
Musical  ability,  a  family  trait,  in  case,  168, 

284. 
Mutes,  six  cases  of,  86. 

our  child,  289,  307, 

N 

*'N?",  meaning  of,  22. 
Ne'er-do-wells,  18. 

what  is  to  be  done  with  the,  570. 
Neuropathic  ancestry,  47,  437,  443-448. 

cases,  318-350. 
Neurotic,  526. 

Newark  daily  paper  quoted,  237. 
No  Cause  Group  defined,  48. 

discovered,  460-462. 
Normal  child  of  two  feeble-minded  parents, 

95,  116,  129,  14s,  235. 
NuUiplex,  the  term  defined,  537. 
Number  work  of  BennieT.  (facsimile),  149- 
150. 

O 

Obesity,  hereditary  tendency  to,  312. 
Offspring,   effect   of   alcohol   in   producing 

non- viable,  487. 
Otitis  media,  given  as  cause,  334. 


Palate,  no,  374. 

cleft,  91,  304. 
Pantomime,  went  thru  tests  in,  247. 
Paper  cutting,  364. 
Paralysis,  500-503. 

charts  showing,  500-501. 

sleeping,  313. 
Parents,  normal  but  alcoholic,  486. 
Pauperism,  16. 

Paupers,  what  is  to  be  done  with,  569. 
Pedagogical  problem,  the,  20. 


Physicians,  carelessness  of,  supposed  cause 

of  mental  defect,  449. 
Piano,  illustration,  541. 
Pineal  gland,  used,  428. 

valuable  effect  of,  382. 
Police  Department,  584. 
Pott's  disease,  case  of,  217. 
Premature   births,   that   do  not   result   in 
defective  children,  450. 

7  months,  332,  419. 
Prison  report  on  Peter  K.,  173. 
Probability  vs.  certainty,  38. 
Probably   Hereditary   Group,   defined,   47, 
437. 

cases,  280-317. 

the  group,  439-440, 
Probation  system,  584. 
Problems,  four,  to  be  solved,  19. 
Program,    for    Morning    Assembly,    repro- 
duced, 405. 
Prostitutes,  per  cent  feeble-minded,  14-15. 

what  is  to  be  done  with  the,  570. 
Prostitution,  13. 

keeper  of  house  of,  130,  237. 
Psychological  problem,  the,  19. 
Public    Schools    must    register    defectives, 

583-585. 
Punishment,  idea  of.  7. 
Pyromania,  case  of,  treated,  324. 


Reformatories,  per  cent  defective  in,  g. 

Reform  School,  a  case  in,  416. 

Registration  bureau,  583. 

Related  cases.  Cases  43  and  97 ;  Cases  30 
and  707 ;  21  and  9 ;  13  and  loi ; 
64  and  140;  70  and  229  \  145  and 
112  ;  85  and  102 ;  qi  and  Kallikak ; 
175  and  86. 

Religious  conversion  and  intemperance,  13. 
tendency,  216,  356,  424. 

Report,  a  sample,  41. 

from  Children's  Home  Society,  163-164, 
of     Massachusetts     Vice     Commission 
quoted,  15  (footnote). 

Responsibility,  grades  of,  2. 
limits  of,  3. 

Reversion  to  type,  feeble-mindedness  as  a, 
508. 

Revised  charts,  Nos.  i,  17,  97,  170,  177, 
189,  2 so,  255,  264,  32-30- 

Revolution,  soldier  of  American,  remem- 
bered, 28. 

Rosanoff,  Dr.  A.  J.,  538. 


598 


INDEX 


"Scattering,"  in  Binet  Tests,  explained,  505. 

indicates  insanity,  154,  296. 
School  attainments  of  children  of  various 

mental  ages,  577. 
Self-supporting,  moron,  584. 
Sex,  instinct,  56. 

of  feeble-minded,  467, 

under-developed,  497. 
Sexual  immorality,  in  our  cases,  497-499. 
Shop-girls,  14. 

Shuttleworth,  Dr.  G.  E.,  450. 
"Simplex,"  defined,  537. 
Sleeps,  never,  434. 
Smallpox,  300. 

Smith,  Florence  Givens,  report  by,  40. 
Social  problem,  the,  19. 
Speech  defect,  case  of,  113,  118,  382. 

hereditary,  91,  227. 
Speech  training,  loi. 
Spelling  by  Bennie  T.  (facsimile),  151. 
Spontaneous   origin   of   feeble-mindedness, 
460. 

possible  cases  of,  215,  461-462. 
State  Hospital,  case  in,  155,  296,  419. 
State's  Prison,  served  a  term  in,  327. 
Sterilization,  566,  587-588. 
Stigmata  of  degeneration,  171,  243. 
Stockard,  Dr.  C.  R.,  quoted,  475. 
Strangulation,  partial,  361. 
Suicide,  some  cases  of,  55,  167,  308,  344,  350, 

369 
Survivors,  total,  in  each  group,  468. 
Swiss  Lake  Dwellers.  29. 
Symbols,  explanation  of,  48. 
Syphilis,  518-521. 

case  of,  latent  thru  three  generations, 
324- 

typical  cases,  53,  216,  281,  335. 


Table  I,  Number  in  each  group,  466. 

II,  Number  N,  F,  etc.,  in  each  group, 
467. 

III,  Total  survivors  in  each  group,  468. 

IV,  Condition  of  children  for  each  kind 
of  mating,  469. 

V,  Distribution  of  our  children  and  their 
sibs,  472. 

VI,  Distriburion  of  diseases  and  condi- 
tions, 473. 

VII,  Alcohol,  condition   of  parents  of 
our  children,  476. 


Table  VIII,  Number  alcoholic,  each  group, 
480. 

IX,  Alcoholic  and  non-alcoholic  parents, 
481. 

X,  Feeble-minded  and  normal  children 
in  alcoholic  and  non-alcoholic  fami- 
lies, 488. 

XI,  Parents,  alcoholic,  paralytic,  epilep- 
tic, etc.,  494. 

XII,  Frequency  and  distribution  of  sex, 
498. 

XIII,  Paralysis,  500. 

XIV,  Insanity,  506. 

XV,  Epilepsy,  514. 

XVI,  Criminality,  516. 

XVII,  Syphilis,  5 1 9. 

XVIII,  Persons  in  Institutions,  528. 

XIX,  Alcohol,  tuberculosis,  etc.,  in 
the  fundamental  groups,  529. 

XX,  .\lcohol,  tuberculosis,  etc.,  in  the 
fundamental  groups,  531. 

XXI,  Summary  of  Tables,  532. 
Tempers,  violent,  256. 

Tennis  playing,  Gussie's  account  of,  65, 
Thorndike,  E.  L.,  525. 
"Ticks"  explained,  565. 
Tooth  extracted,  diagrams  drawn  by  de- 
fective child,  316. 
Tragic  story  of  Gertie,  352. 
Training,  kind  of,  must  be  learned,  585. 

purpose  of,  586. 
Tredgold,  quoted,  475. 
Truants,  18. 

per  cent  feeble-minded,  19. 
Tuberculosis,  495. 
Tumor  on  the  brain,  434. 
Twins,  525-526. 

one  normal,  one  feeble-minded,  197,  251, 
260,  273,  304. 
Typhoid  fever,  cause  of  defect,  381. 


U 


Unclassified  Group,  defined,  48. 

discussed,  462-465. 

cases,  413-434. 
Undesirable,  421. 
Unit  character  defined,  534. 

is  feeble-mindedness  a,  539-547. 


Vagabond,  a,  245. 
Vasectomy,  588. 


INDEX 


599 


Vasectomy  and  marriage,  589. 

Vice  Commission  Report  (Mass.),  iS- 

Viciousness  will  seldom  develop,  588. 


W 


Walk,  spells  of  inability  to,  420. 
Wanderers,  527. 

cases  of,  91,  210,  276,  336,  361,  367. 
Wassermann,  Negative,  Case  Nos.,  84,  91, 
i6s,  186,  IQ3,  202,  215,  293. 
Positive,  Case  Nos.,  700,  215,  234,  252, 
253,  240,  263,  279,    347,  350,  364, 
365,  3Q8,  399,  404,  430. 
Test  applied  to  our  children,  520-521. 


Webbed  fingers  and  toes,  238,  312. 
Weeks,  Dr.  David  F.,  538. 
Whiskey,  fed  on,  382. 
White  slave  traffic,  13. 
Whooping-cough,  456. 

as  a  cause,  377. 

severe  cases  of,  309,  380,  395. 
Will,  weakness  of,  and  alcohol,  12. 
Woodwork,  remarkable  effect  of,  on  Walter 

K.,  170. 
Writings  of  a  case  of  suspected  dementia 
praecox,  60-70. 

Story  by  Bennie  T.  (facsimile),  149. 

Story  of  spiders,  135. 
Wundt,  quoted,  557. 


789 


I'i 


^ 


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